Americus —

AMERICUS — Julia W. Cooke, 87, formerly of Albany, GA and Pinetta, FL, died Friday, Sept. 3, 2010 at Magnolia Manor in Americus.

A memorial service to remember Julia will be held Sept. 11, 2010 at 11 a.m. in the chapel at Magnolia Manor. A luncheon for family and close friends will follow. 

In lieu of flowers, a donation may be made to Magnolia Manor (http://www.magnoliamanor.com/pages/giving.html), a ministry of the United Methodist Church serving older adults of all faiths throughout South Georgia.

Mrs. Cooke was born in Madison, FL on Sept. 20,1922 and moved to Albany when she was 10, after the death of her father. She met and married Harry J. Cooke when he was stationed in Albany while in the Air Force during WWII. They had been married for 55 years at the time of Harry’s death in  2001.

Julia and Harry lived in Texas and Nebraska, then returned to Atlanta in 1950 while Harry attended Georgia Tech. Upon his graduation in 1953, they moved to Columbia, S.C.

They lived in Columbia for 12 years and were one of the charter families of Virgina Wingard Memorial United Methodist Church. They were selected as Family of the Year there in 1964. Their four children were born in Columbia.

In 1966, they returned to Albany, where Julia was an active member of First Methodist Church of Albany and the local garden club. She worked in Civil Service at the Marine Corps Logistics Base until her retirement.

After retirement, Julia and Harry took up ballroom dancing, earning their bronze certification from the Arthur Murray Studio. They were active members of the local ballroom dancing group for many years.

Julia was a lifetime flower show judge and earned her certification as a Master Gardener in the 1970’s. One of her greatest joys was gardening, flower arranging, and sharing plants and cuttings with friends and neighbors.

She was also an accomplished cook and cake decorator. She was already making the currently popular “doll cakes,” in which the cake appears to be the skirt of a doll’s dress, for her daughter in the 1960’s. She designed cakes that appeared to be trains, rockets, farms and other subtleties for her children’s birthdays and shared these ideas with friends as well.

She loved crafts, from ceramics to fabric painting, and did needlepoint also.

She was a woman of strong religious faith and supported her church in every way, from teaching Sunday school and Bible School to providing fresh flower arrangements weekly. She was a member of a Methodist circle and also had served on the Altar Guild. She was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star, Crape Myrtle Chapter #163.

Mrs. Cooke was predeceased by her husband, parents, brother and sisters. Surviving her are four children, Robert Cooke of Cordele, Kathryn Cooke Davidson and her husband David of Marietta, David Cooke and his wife Lee of Tucker, and Richard Cooke of Tallahassee, FL, along with eight grandchildren, a niece, and two nephews.

The family would like to thank the staff at Magnolia Manor for their loving care and attention these past four years. They would also like to thank Henry Burdeshaw, a life-long friend, who loved, visited, and supported their mom until the very end.

Friends and relatives may sign the guestbook and share their thoughts with the family of Mrs. Cooke by visiting Kimbrell-Stern’s website at www.kimbrellstern.com.