Cook, Wanda May Gregory (1938-2020)

COOK, GREGORY, MCDOWELL, DARNOLD, WILLOUGHBY

Posted By: Debbie Greenfield (email)
Date: 5/23/2021 at 19:34:22

Daily Freeman Journal, Webster City, Iowa
June 26, 2020

Wanda May Cook, 81, died June 22, 2020 at her home in Webster City, IA, in the presence of family. Wanda was born on December 7, 1938, in Marshalltown, IA, the daughter of Harold and Thelma McDowell Gregory. She graduated from Tama High School in 1956 and attended Cornell College. On June 23, 1957, Wanda married Donald Cook at the Tama United Methodist Church; the coupled moved to Webster City in 1958, where they raised their two children.

During her working years, Wanda was employed at the Country Garden Store and at Don’s abstracting business, Security Title & Abstract, Inc., where she helped with proofreading and bookkeeping in her meticulous, beautiful handwriting. She was a member of Asbury United Methodist Church and the Women’s Club of Webster City, a Mother Advisor of the International Order of the Rainbow for Girls, and a former member of the Order of the Eastern Star. She was actively involved in her children’s activities, serving as Cub Scout Den Mother, Brownie Scout Leader, and avid Lynx Imperials band booster.

Wanda will be remembered not only for her love and support of her family, but also for her love for animals. Wanda welcomed a menagerie of animal companions into her home over the years–hamsters, poodles, skunks, cats, fish–and enjoyed going on evening drives with her husband to look for deer. She died in the company of a mischievous Bengal cat named Buddy and a beloved (by her) and feared (by everyone else) Yorkshire Terrier/Maltese mix named Radar.

She is preceded in death by her parents and her husband. She is survived by her children, Steve (Jill) Cook of Perry, IA, and Lynn (Daniel) Darnold of Waverly, IA; her grandchildren, April (Craig Olson) Cook of Grimes, IA, Elizabeth (Thomas) Willoughby of Kansas City, MO, Lauren (Nicholas Salick) Darnold of Council Bluffs, IA, Nathaniel Darnold of Waverly, IA, and Christian Darnold of Waverly, IA; and her great-grandson, Malcolm Olson.

Messages of condolence may be left online at Foster Funeral Home and Cremation Center (https://www.fosterfuneralandcremation.com).

In lieu of flowers, if you wish to honor Wanda with a memorial, please direct them to Almost Home Humane Society of North Central Iowa, 725 S 32nd Street, Fort Dodge, Iowa 50501.

A private family service will be held at Graceland Cemetery, Webster City, at a later date.