Tribute

Virginia Irene Cook

July 19, 1939 – September 25, 2022

We are very sad to share the heartbreaking news that our Mother, Virginia Irene Cook, passed away peacefully with family by her side on September 25, 2022, at the age of 83. It was a beautiful, warm, calm, and sunny Sunday afternoon, just like Mom’s favorite kind of day.

Virginia is predeceased by her parents Rose and Sydney Baker, and her loving husband of almost 63 years, Walter Cook. Her love was so strong for our Dad she suffered from a broken heart after he passed recently in May 2022, and longed to have him home with her again. It is a comfort for us to know that our Mom and Dad are together in Heaven along with their loyal beloved dog Sadie who recently joined them.

Virginia is truly missed by her three loving daughters, Julie (Dan) Hodak, Kathy (Paul) Abel, and Gina Nixon; seven grandchildren, Shane (Ana) Hodak, Alicia (Jeremiah) Saunders, Jordan (Kate) Hodak, Vanessa (Brandon) Cross, Jeff (Emma) Abel, Brett (Zoe) Abel, and Jesse Nixon; five great grandchildren, April Saunders, Luca, Jaylee, and Kenzie Cross, and Rylan Hodak. She is also deeply missed and survived by her two brothers and two sisters, Wade Baker, Autumn Jackson, James (Anita) Baker, and Rosemary Newman as well as many nieces and nephews. We are all so blessed to be her family and grateful for her love and compassion.

Virginia was born and raised in Lytton, British Columbia, where she grew up with her four siblings and worked in her family restaurant. Lytton is where she met and married the love of her life, our Dad, a road engineer on the Fraser Canyon highway. During the earlier years of their marriage, she was very busy raising three girls and working and moving around BC as Dad was transferred to numerous highway construction projects. In 1965, they fell in love with Osoyoos BC where Dad was transferred to build the Mount Kobau Observatory Road. In 1966 they were transferred again but couldn’t stay away so they gave up road construction and returned to Osoyoos in 1967 to make it their forever home and both became involved community members.

Virginia was an influential lifelong community advocate. She was a class act and a busy woman to keep up with. While raising a family involved with piano, skating, and many other activities, she still volunteered her time on many committees and boards within the community. Virginia was a volunteer driver for cancer patients needing treatment in other cities and worked hard on the skating rink committee to have the skating arena built in 1970. She valued education and was a dedicated school board trustee from 1975 -1985, during which time she passionately fought and succeeded to have a high school built in Osoyoos in 1979. In addition, she organized and ran a referendum to raise funds to build the school’s mini-theatre and lobbied for a new skate park for the youth. Virginia continued her public service as a town council member from 1996 – 2000, at which time her political interest and sense of adventure led her to campaign for many positive changes and improvements for the town of Osoyoos. For many years, she was involved in the Soroptimist charitable organization and the Pioneer Walkway project.  She also served on the board of Okanagan College, the Osoyoos Water Quality Society, and Osoyoos Now.  No matter how busy she was, she couldn’t resist volunteering for causes she believed in.

Virginia was also a dedicated business woman. Starting out as the bookkeeper in their real estate business in town, a few years after her daughters graduated high school and left home, Virginia pursued her real estate career in 1987. She worked full-time as a realtor alongside Walter, always with a sense of style, while still continuing to do the bookkeeping for the business, often late at night. Her natural admiration for the town of Osoyoos and her tireless work ethic led her to a very successful career, with many repeat customers who often became longtime friends. She loved being a realtor so it was very difficult for her to finally retire at the age of 70. We are very proud of all that she accomplished in her lifetime. The legacy of Walter and Virginia Cook and their downtown Osoyoos real estate office building, recently named ‘Cook Centre’ in their honour, is proudly carried on by family.

Our Mom was a talented multi-tasker, quick to learn anything and enjoyed so many pastimes including books and reading, swimming at her beach, summer in the sunshine, all her beautiful flowers, late night movies with her girls, music sing-alongs with us and Dad, dancing, sewing, travel, and arts and culture. She was very social and a talented cook who loved to host guests in her beautiful home that she took such pride in. She could whip up a meal in short order for a very large group of people, which she credited to her family restaurant cooking days. But most of all, spending time with family and her beloved pets meant more to Mom than anything else.

Mom was an amazing mother and a cherished presence in our lives. We are grateful for all that she taught us. She was the first person to jump in and lend a helping hand and she always encouraged us to do the same. Her unconditional love, positive encouragement and great confidence in us were always part of every day with our mom. We always knew we could count on her and how much she loved us. She taught us the importance of values, compassion, and independence. Her wonderfully caring heart, generosity and devotion to family and friends will always be with us and treasured forever.

Thank you to Dr. De Vries, all the nurses and care aides who cared for our Mom, Nunes-Pottinger Funeral Service & Crematorium, family, friends, and neighbours for the tremendous care and support. As Virginia was a proud supporter of the BC Children’s Hospital and BCSPCA for decades, if you wish, please make a donation to these organizations in Virginia’s honour.

Our mom is unforgettable and deeply missed. It brings us peace to know that our parents are reunited and their beautiful love story and legacy lives on.

Our family will be planning a private Celebration of Life in the spring, where we look forward to sharing warm memories of our beautiful mother with family and friends.

We Love You Mom. Julie, Kathy and Gina