Lavera Cook

LaVera A. Cook LaVera A. Cook of Neodesha, KS, died Tuesday, December 22, 2009, at the Golden Living Center. She was 92. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, December 26, 2009, at the United Methodist Church under the direction of Penwell-Gabel Loran Fawcett Chapel. Reverends Kris Brinlee and Dave Cheshier will officiate. Interment will be in Neodesha Cemetery. Friends may call to register on Thursday from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. The family will receive friends at the church on Saturday from 1-2 p.m. The daughter of Albert and Cora Ladd Wood, she was born July 29, 1917, in Humboldt, KS. She graduated from Humboldt High School in 1935. She then received her training to become a registered nurse from Johnson Hospital in Chanute, KS, graduating in 1938. She then moved to Neodesha to begin work as a nurse for the Wilson County Hospital, rising to the position of Director of Nursing. On February 6, 1943, she was united in marriage to Russell Pete Cook in Bellflower, California. Mr. Cook survives at the home. She was a member of the United Methodist Church where she was member of the United Methodist Women and Deborah Circle. She was also a member of the Wilson County Hospital Ladies Auxiliary, the Kansas Society of Nursing Service Administrators, TLC Club, Neodesha Arts Association, the Tuesday Club, and Beta Sigma Phi Sorority. LaVera was named Woman of the Year in 1979. She was a Den Mother while her boys were active in scouting. She retired at age 70 but continued to do volunteer work throughout the community. In addition to her husband, she is survived by three sons, Dean of Overland Park, KS, Dick of Topeka, KS, and Robert of Reno, NV; three grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. She is preceded in death by her parents, three sisters and one brother. Memorial contributions may be made to the Wilson Medical Center Foundation or the Golden Living Center and may be left at the funeral home.