JAMES ROBERT COOKE

With heavy hearts, we announce that our dad passed away on August 25th in St. Pierre-Jolys Hospital at the age of 84.

He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Eileen; children, James Jr. (Allison), Linda (Mark), Mark, and Karen (Jason); grandchildren, Chris, Meaghan, Alex, Lucas, Emma, and Regan; siblings, Aileen, Frances, Sheila, Patricia, Noreen, John, and Terry. Predeceased by his parents, James and Eileen (née Maxwell); sisters, Sally, Nancy, Pauline, and Mary; and brother Robert.  

Dad was born the fifth of 13 children and was the eldest son of James and Eileen Cooke in Dublin, Ireland. Surrounded by 7 sisters, it was no surprise he was quiet and reserved. There was a never a happier person to get 3 brothers, even though they came at the end of the line. All of his brothers enjoyed his harmonica playing and worshipped their cool, big brother. He was their hero. He left school at 14 and apprenticed as a plumber/pipefitter. He was an extremely talented soccer player but no one would have known given he would never brag about it. Nicknamed the Flying Winger, he played for Lissadel United and Galty Celtic in Dublin.  An absolute highlight was when he was named an Ireland junior national. Rumors abounded that he was going to be signed by Aston Villa. 

On a night out with friends in 1959, he asked a young, red-headed Irish girl named Eileen Deegan to dance and they danced together for the next 60 plus years. After marrying in 1963, and then, with two kids in tow, they immigrated to Canada in 1967; landing in Winnipeg. Dad was employed by CP Rail in the Weston Shops and had other part time jobs while establishing their new life. Two more kids followed. Dad was the chauffer to hockey, ringette, dance competitions, baton, Girl Guides, Scouts and Cadets and, any other activity four kids could keep you busy with. He spent a number of years coaching soccer with Lord Roberts community club, including winning a provincial championship.  

When not ferrying around his children, dad was up for any activity. Aston Villa dreams aside, he continued to play soccer in the premier division of the Manitoba Soccer League for a number of years. There are many highlights with different clubs such as Ital-Inter, Weston United and Tatra. Naturally gifted at sports, he also enjoyed golf, bowling, swimming and curling. Having no hockey knowledge, he taught himself to skate and a childhood memory for us all was him flooding our backyard every year to make a rink we could all skate on. At age 40, he retired from soccer, quit smoking, took up running and a new passion was born: distance running. Dad was incredibly disciplined in his new passion. He would run to and from work, even in the dead of winter, so he could get all his miles in while training for marathons. In 1985, at the age of 45, he came in 4th in the Manitoba Marathon with an incredible time of 2:37. He qualified and ran the Boston Marathon in 1986. Dad won his age division in races ranging from 10Ks to marathons for years. One of his favorite marathons was the Twin Cities Marathon and he was quite happy when Karen moved to Minneapolis so he had a free place to stay. In 2004, at the age of 63, he won the over 60 division at the Austin, TX marathon with a time of 2:58. He also ran the Dublin Marathon. Dad was so mad when he stopped being able run sub 3 hour marathons in his late 60s. We almost disowned him from disappointment. Much to his own surprise (but no one else’s), he was named Manitoba male runner of the year in 1999.  

One of his admirable qualities was his ability to teach himself new skills and the willingness to try anything. He prided himself on building and maintaining our home(s) and helping out friends when asked. Despite this, he could not set the clock on the VCR to save his life. An avid reader, he had more how to books and encyclopaedias than anyone else. Saturday morning home shows were a staple in our house, which was hard when we only had one tv and four kids. Forget trying to watch anything when the Olympics were on. Everyone knew Sunday afternoon we were watching golf.   

Dad retired from CP Rail in 1996 and mom followed shortly after. After buying a lake place up in Manigotogan, they split their time between Harlingen, TX and ‘up north’. In spring 2006, they moved to Pinawa and still went to Texas in the winter. A sportsman’s paradise with less bears, Dad continued to run, bike, swim, golf and garden to his heart’s content. Wintering in Texas, he loved the sun, golfing, bowling and playing pool and darts in the clubhouse. He also loved the hot tub. They made many lasting friendships with other snowbirds from around North America. Hosting the grandchildren during the summer and holidays in Pinawa, lasting memories were made and much fun was had. Papa’s dry sense of humor and patience with different personalities made him a favorite with his grandkids. A notorious sweet tooth, he had the kids convinced that cookies before dinner was because they were special. Suckers.  

After living a healthy and active life, dad faced medical challenges in this last year that even his stubborn self could not defeat. We would like to thank his many medical teams and facilities for his care. We would especially like to thank the team at St. Pierre-Jolys hospital for going above and beyond with their treatment of our dad. You are truly angels.

Our dad was the most honest and fair person we’ve ever known, embodying integrity in every aspect of his life. He made the courageous decision to move our family to Canada, bringing with him just our mom, two kids and the clothes on their backs. Despite the challenges, he never wavered in his principles, building a new life for us with hard work and unwavering dedication. Because of this, our family flourished, adding two more kids and a lifetime of great memories. His courage and fairness remain a guiding light in our lives, reminding us of the strength it takes to start anew and the importance of staying true to oneself. The space left behind is large but his spirit and legacy live on, through us and everyone who was lucky enough to be considered a friend.

In Accordance with his wishes, cremation has taken place and no formal service will be held. A celebration of his life/open house will be held from 1:00 – 4:00pm on Saturday, September 21st at Pinawa Golf Club, 1 Willis Drive, Pinawa, MB.

James’ family kindly requests that all of his friends and relatives take a few minutes to honour his memory by watching the photo-biography above. Please, also consider sharing your own photos, memories, and stories by making use of the comment section on this page.

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ETHICAL DEATH CARE

Cremation & Life Celebrations

530 St. Mary Avenue - Winnipeg

204-421-5501 - www.ethicaldeathcare.com

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