Obituary for Joan McCook
JOAN SIDES McCOOK
August 23, 1930 – April 28, 2020
Joan (pronounced “Jo-Ann”) McCook, age 89, passed away peacefully on Tuesday evening April 28, 2020, at Angels Touch in Riverview, Florida. Her oldest daughter, Rebecca, was by her side holding her hand and singing Joan’s favorite hymn “Jesus is the Sweetest Name I Know” until Jesus gently took her hand and led her to a joyful reunion with her loved ones in heaven.
A native born and proud Texan, Joan was a good, kind and generous spirit to all who knew her. She was born on August 23, 1930 on her grandparents homestead farm near Bovina, Texas and grew up with her parents (“Mama” Gladys and “Papa” David), her brothers (Bill and Buddy) and her sister (Betty), and nine Bates Uncles (Coy, Earl, Lois, Floyd, J.R., Wayne, Dean, Frank and Leon) who loved her like a “sida” (for sister). (Later in life, Joan asked to be called “MamaSida” because she so loved being their little "sida."). Joan loved taking the family to visit her parents for vacations, family reunions, and girls summer camp in Marble Falls, Texas. When Joan and Pete retired, they built a beautiful home in Lakeway, where they could look out every day over the Texas hill country that they loved.
Joan was one of the most talented people you could ever meet. Her life was filled with art and music. When she was a teenager, she played piano on a local radio show and continued playing the piano all her life, including serving as a church organist. Her rendition of “God Bless America” would leave people cheering. She met her beloved husband, Pete, while she was on a scholarship at Baylor to play the bassoon with the orchestra. He walked up next to her and grabbed her bassoon case to carry and the rest was history for the almost 60 years they were married. Pete always loved how talented Joan was. He bought her a $50 piano as a gift when they first married and together they had fun restoring an old Newman Brothers pump organ.
Joan was a professional artist and calligrapher all her life, and her talent was a continual inspiration. Her interests were many, ranging from twice being a book store owner (of The Learned Owl in Hudson, Ohio and, later in San Antonio, of The Painted Pony) to enjoying innovative movies and true crime books to painting oil and watercolor portraits, and always learning more about her Macintosh computer. One of her most treasured pictures was one she made of her and Pete gazing lovingly at each other surrounded by the words of the song “Rainbow in your Eyes.” She said listening to that song made her want to dance! Most of all, Joan had an unbreakable devotion to her family and friends along the way, always wanting to contribute to the well-being and success of those she loved.
She leaves behind many of those she loved so much:
Her children: Rebecca, Deborah, and Patrick
Her grandchildren: Isaac, Peter, Nicky, and Stephen
Her great-grandchildren: Christian and Felix
Her brothers and sisters: Bill, Buddy, and Betty
And all the other friends and family she loved, appreciated, and cherished.
For the trip to heaven, she was wrapped in her favorite Double Wedding Ring quilt that her great grandmother Rebecca Floyd Wilson had sewed out of brightly colored scraps of material and given to her as a baby. Joan said she would “feel surrounded by love.” She also took her passport with her because it showed all the wonderful places in the world she had traveled with Pete at her side and now she would be traveling to rejoin Pete, her parents, the Bates boys, and her favorite white Persian cat, Mr. Bigglesworth, in heaven.
A true Texan, Joan’s final resting place will be next to Pete at Remembrance Gardens in Austin, Texas.
Note to MamaSida up in heaven: - We all love you so much! We will miss your sweet disposition, sense of humor, intelligence, creativity and love for your family. But we know you are playing hymns for cheering crowds and painting brightly-colored portraits in heaven. We know you and Dad are holding hands once again and watching over us. On Mothers Day we will think of you and drink your favorite chocolate Frosty milkshake in your honor. You are our Guardian Angel and will forever be in our hearts.
Here is a poem you shared with us:
NEVER DOUBT THERE ARE ANGELS
Never doubt there are Angels
Among us all the time.
Those who come to encourage us
When there’s a hill to climb.
They’re the ones who sit beside us
When it is our time to mourn.
And the ones who share our joy
When we welcome a newborn.
They’re the ones who come to visit
Or to call us now and then
Just to say they have missed us
And wonder how we’ve been.
They may be our friends and neighbors
Or strangers who pass our way.
Never doubt there are Angels.
We see them every day.
- Clay Harrison
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August 23, 1930 – April 28, 2020
Joan (pronounced “Jo-Ann”) McCook, age 89, passed away peacefully on Tuesday evening April 28, 2020, at Angels Touch in Riverview, Florida. Her oldest daughter, Rebecca, was by her side holding her hand and singing Joan’s favorite hymn “Jesus is the Sweetest Name I Know” until Jesus gently took her hand and led her to a joyful reunion with her loved ones in heaven.
A native born and proud Texan, Joan was a good, kind and generous spirit to all who knew her. She was born on August 23, 1930 on her grandparents homestead farm near Bovina, Texas and grew up with her parents (“Mama” Gladys and “Papa” David), her brothers (Bill and Buddy) and her sister (Betty), and nine Bates Uncles (Coy, Earl, Lois, Floyd, J.R., Wayne, Dean, Frank and Leon) who loved her like a “sida” (for sister). (Later in life, Joan asked to be called “MamaSida” because she so loved being their little "sida."). Joan loved taking the family to visit her parents for vacations, family reunions, and girls summer camp in Marble Falls, Texas. When Joan and Pete retired, they built a beautiful home in Lakeway, where they could look out every day over the Texas hill country that they loved.
Joan was one of the most talented people you could ever meet. Her life was filled with art and music. When she was a teenager, she played piano on a local radio show and continued playing the piano all her life, including serving as a church organist. Her rendition of “God Bless America” would leave people cheering. She met her beloved husband, Pete, while she was on a scholarship at Baylor to play the bassoon with the orchestra. He walked up next to her and grabbed her bassoon case to carry and the rest was history for the almost 60 years they were married. Pete always loved how talented Joan was. He bought her a $50 piano as a gift when they first married and together they had fun restoring an old Newman Brothers pump organ.
Joan was a professional artist and calligrapher all her life, and her talent was a continual inspiration. Her interests were many, ranging from twice being a book store owner (of The Learned Owl in Hudson, Ohio and, later in San Antonio, of The Painted Pony) to enjoying innovative movies and true crime books to painting oil and watercolor portraits, and always learning more about her Macintosh computer. One of her most treasured pictures was one she made of her and Pete gazing lovingly at each other surrounded by the words of the song “Rainbow in your Eyes.” She said listening to that song made her want to dance! Most of all, Joan had an unbreakable devotion to her family and friends along the way, always wanting to contribute to the well-being and success of those she loved.
She leaves behind many of those she loved so much:
Her children: Rebecca, Deborah, and Patrick
Her grandchildren: Isaac, Peter, Nicky, and Stephen
Her great-grandchildren: Christian and Felix
Her brothers and sisters: Bill, Buddy, and Betty
And all the other friends and family she loved, appreciated, and cherished.
For the trip to heaven, she was wrapped in her favorite Double Wedding Ring quilt that her great grandmother Rebecca Floyd Wilson had sewed out of brightly colored scraps of material and given to her as a baby. Joan said she would “feel surrounded by love.” She also took her passport with her because it showed all the wonderful places in the world she had traveled with Pete at her side and now she would be traveling to rejoin Pete, her parents, the Bates boys, and her favorite white Persian cat, Mr. Bigglesworth, in heaven.
A true Texan, Joan’s final resting place will be next to Pete at Remembrance Gardens in Austin, Texas.
Note to MamaSida up in heaven: - We all love you so much! We will miss your sweet disposition, sense of humor, intelligence, creativity and love for your family. But we know you are playing hymns for cheering crowds and painting brightly-colored portraits in heaven. We know you and Dad are holding hands once again and watching over us. On Mothers Day we will think of you and drink your favorite chocolate Frosty milkshake in your honor. You are our Guardian Angel and will forever be in our hearts.
Here is a poem you shared with us:
NEVER DOUBT THERE ARE ANGELS
Never doubt there are Angels
Among us all the time.
Those who come to encourage us
When there’s a hill to climb.
They’re the ones who sit beside us
When it is our time to mourn.
And the ones who share our joy
When we welcome a newborn.
They’re the ones who come to visit
Or to call us now and then
Just to say they have missed us
And wonder how we’ve been.
They may be our friends and neighbors
Or strangers who pass our way.
Never doubt there are Angels.
We see them every day.
- Clay Harrison
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