New London woman turns 100, and didn't let a knee problem get her down
Dee Cooke turns 100 on Dec. 6, and her family is planning an open house for her 2-4:30 p.m. Sunday, at the Hileman Building in the Recreation Park, 2 Blake St., New London.
Born DeLaurice Corrine Bilton on Dec. 6, 1923, to Pearl and Arthur Bilton in Florence, Ohio, Dee was the seventh of nine children.
She attended first and second grade in Florence, but transferred to Hartland Elementary for the next six grades after her family moved to the area.
The closest high school was in New London, and that is where she met her husband-to-be, Frank Cooke, and they became high school sweethearts.
Following high school Dee attended the Oberlin School of Commerce, where she worked following her training. Later she worked at the Huron County Banking Company in Norwalk.
Frank did not serve in the military during WWII because of a foot injury that disqualified him, but after high school he worked on the family farm and drove a steel truck.
Wedding bells
Dee and Frank were married on April 15, 1944, in the Collins Methodist Church and moved to the Cooke family farm west of New London.
Their first daughter, Sherrill Stover, was born in 1945 and she was followed by Charlotte Dresch, Judy Reese, Janice Myers, Laura Davidson, Gloria Gentry, Dee Dee Marschall, Stuart Cooke and Stanley Cooke. Daughter Nancy was born between the two boys, but passed away at 14 months.
As the family grew, Frank continued to drive truck and farm, but eventually started an excavating business, digging basements, swimming pools and “doing anything anybody needed” for area residents.
Farming was never important to him, and he turned his land into a 9-hole golf course, which opened in the spring of 1968. This was expanded to 18 holes in the early 1980s and sold to son Stuart and his wife Kelli in 1994. They still own and run the business, Millstone Hills Golf Course.
For many years Dee was busy raising their family, making clothes when they were young and tending to a garden each year, as well as helping Frank out when needed. She was the first adviser for the Rip-n-Stitch 4-H Club, where her daughters and friends learned to sew.
When the children were older, she worked at Nickles Bakery, Burner & Sutherland Hardware and later ran the club house for the golf course.
After Frank passed away in 1997, Dee stayed in the family home where she still lives and still gardens, although the plot is not as big as it once was.
Still healthy and active
She says she lives “day-to-day,” she eats healthy food, and she keeps as active as possible. Her left knee began giving her problems a few years ago, so she had it replaced last year and has never regretted it. She urges anyone who is putting off having a surgery like this to “go for it because mine was totally successful.”
Today she has 30 grandchildren, 71 great grandchildren and two great-greats, many of whom live near her.
Dee has seen a lot of changes over the past 100 years, “some good and some not so good,” but she is very grateful to have lived this long and looks forward to celebrating her birthday with her many friends and family members on Sunday.
This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: New London's Cooke turns 100; celebration set for Sunday
