Wilma Faye Cook

December 3, 1931~April 19, 2017

Wilma Faye Sawyer Cook, age 85 and of Waco, TX, passed away peacefully in her sleep on April 19, 2017 at Clifton Lutheran Sunset Ministries Home. She had been suffering from a number of health conditions for quite some time and her body was tired. She was preceded in death by her mother and father, Kitty and Joe Sawyer; her husband James Cook; her siblings Ralph Sawyer, Joyce Sawyer Kimbrough, and Bonnie Sawyer Compton Harkey. She is survived by her daughter, Teresa Cook. There are no services for Wilma, as her wish was to be cremated and have her ashes spread on her parents' graves.

Wilma was born and grew up in Valley Mills, TX. She was the youngest of four children born during the Great Depression. This era gave her the lifelong habit of "fix it, use it up or wear it out." Her mother was tired of having children by the time Wilma was born, so she was mainly reared by her sister Joyce with some help from sister Bonnie. Wilma contracted Polio as a child and fortunately survived without any lifelong effects. She was a strong proponent of vaccinating your children after having survived this terrible disease. She attended school in Valley Mills and was active in Drama, playing roles in school productions. She would have liked to have been an actress but instead went to business college after graduating in 1949. She was hired as a secretary for Amicable Life Insurance in the ALICO building and lived the life of a young single woman in the big city. She met her husband, James Cook, in Waco and they married in 1952. She was in the ALICO Building during the great tornado of 1953. She remembered running up Franklin Avenue looking for James, whose business at 510 Franklin was one of the few left standing on the block. Her greatest desire was to be a mother and housewife at that time, and she gave birth to daughter Teresa in 1958. While pregnant with Teresa, she and James went to Havana, Cuba on vacation. She was able to travel to Mexico and Europe with her family. She sewed nearly all hers and Teresa's clothes with the skill of a tailor. Sewing was her true gift but she never wanted to sew for a living. She could adjust patterns and take Teresa's design requests to create beautiful clothes that fit with precision. She was a housewife until her husband's business went bankrupt and she was forced to return to work.

She worked as a library assistant at both Jefferson Moore High School and McLennan Community College. In order to buy Christmas presents and pay the bills, she took an evening job at O.G.Wilson part-time. She was hired at Sears to sell Floor Coverings and found her calling as a salesperson. She was successful at a job she loved and made many lifelong friends through her years at Sears. In fact, she was able to put Teresa through Baylor University in the late 1970s without the help of student loans. Her health insurance was able to cover her husband during his terminal illness of cancer. Over time, Sears changed and it became harder to make a living selling carpet. Additionally, company policies made the work environment stressful and she retired from selling carpet at age 65. Her years at Sears gave her a pension that she would not otherwise have had. She blamed the increased stress at work for her late diagnosis of adult onset diabetes.

This disease was difficult to control and caused a number of other health problems. She was able to travel to Los Angeles and serve as caregiver to Teresa during her 1998 battle with breast cancer. She traveled back and forth between Waco and Los Angeles during that year to support her daughter. She stayed in Teresa's studio apartment, sleeping on a fold-out sofa and cooked and cleaned while Teresa was ill from chemotherapy. In 2000, Teresa made the decision to return to Baylor to pursue a doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology. She moved back home with Wilma and stayed until graduation in 2006. As Wilma had to find a way to feed two mouths on a monthly social security check, she took part time jobs. One job was working as a Census Worker in 2000. She went door to door collecting information. She met interesting people and one man gave her an oil painting she admired. She went back to work at Sears part-time in fine jewelry and enjoyed seeing old friends. She stayed there until age 80, when she was forced to retire due to increasing problems with diabetes. Always active, she would have preferred to continuing working, meeting people, and staying independent.

In 2012, her sister Bonnie Harkey was murdered by Bonnie's step-son and grandson. It took two years for the murderers to come to trial and be convicted of life without possibility of parole. The stress was dreadful, but Wilma attended everyday of the trial to make sure justice was served. The crime was so sensational, she was interviewed by Texas Monthly and the NBC program Dateline regarding the death of her sister.

Wilma's health took a downturn in the fall of 2016. She was hospitalized several times for complications related to diabetes, infection, and finally a bad fall. Her breathing got progressively worse and she required oxygen therapy full-time. It became necessary to remain in skilled nursing care in February, and she was fortunate enough to be cared for at Clifton Lutheran Sunset Ministries. She was cared for by a loving, attentive group of professionals and was close to Valley Mills. She had looked at an Assisted Living apartment in this facility on Easter Sunday and was working toward moving there. This stay truly brought her back home as she passed away in her sleep in the early morning hours of April 19th. She had been joking with the staff earlier the previous evening and had seen her daughter the weekend prior to her death.

For a woman who had only wanted to be a wife and mother, she accomplished much in her life. Most of all, she became the breadwinner of her family. Her only demand of her high school daughter was that she go to college and get the degree she did not have. She was able to pay for her daughter's education and continued to help her through the rough years a starving actress endures, travel to Los Angeles to care for Teresa over the course of one year, supported her daughter while she went back to Baylor to get a doctorate, and continued to be an enduring presence in her daughter's life until the end. She was proud that her daughter worked as a Clinical Psychologist at the Memphis VA Medical Center and had a good job with excellent benefits. They talked every Sunday night at 8 pm, which was difficult during Sunday night football with the Cowboys. She was thrilled to cast her vote for Hillary Clinton in 2008 but especially in 2016. She knew the price women paid in the workplace and she was a strong supporter of equal rights. She knew what it was like to have to rise above your husband's failures and not be defined by him.

She was a great example, whether she intended to be or not. She set the bar high. Anyone who would like to honor Wilma Cook's life, may do so by donating to a charity of their choice in her name. Suggestions would include the American Cancer Society, First United Methodist Church of Waco, TX, the Paralyzed Veterans of America, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, and the Clifton Lutheran Sunset Ministries.

Please join us in remembering Wilma by signing our guest book on our memorial at www.fossfuneralhome.com