Nancy Carroll Cook (née Court), 82, passed away Monday, May 9, 2016, at AngelsGrace Hospice in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. She was born in Fennimore, WI on July 16, 1933, the daughter of Philip B. and Grayce J. (née Ayres) Court. On June 23, 1956 she married Ray Cook in New London, WI. Nancy graduated from New London High School and earned a B.S. in Elementary Education from the University of WI-Stevens Point. She began her teaching career in 1955 at Whittier in Waukesha, and retired in 1993 after 14 years as a kindergarten teacher at Rose Glen Elementary, where she helped design the classrooms. She also taught at McDill in Stevens Point, White Rock, Meadowbrook and Torhorst Schools in Waukesha. From 1968 to 1970, she & her family shared the adventure of living in Nairobi, Kenya, East Africa.
During the years that her 3 children Cindy, Randy & Perry were growing up, Nancy set aside her teaching career and chose to build into the lives of her children and create a loving home for her family.
Nancy truly enjoyed being a teacher, a mother, a grandmother and a great-grandmother. She enjoyed sewing, teaching Sunday School & ESL, attending Bible studies and helping lead Women’s Circles at First United Methodist Church. Her thoughtful cards & notes of encouragement to family, friends, & former students will be treasured for years to come.
Words that come to mind to those who loved her are kind, patient, loyal, generous & sweet. Her love for Jesus Christ and faith in Him were seen in the way she lived and loved.
Nancy is dearly missed by her three children, Cindy (Dr. John) Kirkpatrick, Appleton; Randall (Ann) Cook, Waukesha; and Dr. Perry (Jean) Cook, Stevens Point. She was the proud grandmother of Kelli (Ronaldo) Ghenov and their sons, Judah and Titus, Doylestown, PA; Dr. Andrew Kirkpatrick, Omaha, NE.; Dr. David Kirkpatrick, Tallahassee, FL; Erin Cook, Milwaukee; Jason (Dr. Melissa) Cook, Great Falls, MT; Shannon (Alex) Nykamp and their daughter Carolyn, Urbandale, IA; and Danielle, Connor and Stephanie Cook, all of Stevens Point. She is further survived by her brother Jeff (Lavon) Court, Brownsville, MN; and nephews Josh (Mindy)and Pearl and Cameron, LaCrosse; Sam (Whitney) and Maclain, St. Cloud, MN along with other relatives and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents and her loving husband of 58 years Ray Allen Cook.
Visitation will be held on Saturday, May 21, 2016 from 9:00 a.m. until the time of the 11:00 a.m. memorial service at First United Methodist Church, 121 Wisconsin Avenue, Waukesha, WI 53186. Pastor Greta Hietpas will preside. Private interment will be at Prairie Home Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorials are appreciated to the Nancy Carroll Cook Memorial Scholarship for Elementary Education at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.