Graveside services for Edna Rae Cook were held at 10:00 A.M. at the Walsh Cemetery on July 31, 2012, with Dykes Funeral Home in charge of the arrangements.
Edna Rae (Robertson) Cook was a resident of Morton County Care Center in Elkhart, Kansas, since November of 2007. She died peacefully in her sleep after a short illness on Thursday, July 26, 2012. She was 95.
Edna Rae was born October 8, 1916, in Jackson County, Oklahoma near Altus. Her parents were John and Brantley Robertson; she was the 10th child of 12 siblings. She attended school at Altus along with her brothers and sisters until she married at an early age and later divorced.
Edna moved to California after WWII. She found employment and met her future husband, Boyd Cook. He had moved from Walsh in 1935 to California where he worked for 27 years at the L.A. Young Spring and Wire Factory. The factory manufactured war materials for the duration of the war. They were married July 31, 1948. They were avid golfers in California and Boyd played basketball on the plant's team.
Boyd retired from the plant in 1961 and the couple returned to Walsh where for a time they raised broomcorn in partnership with Dean and Betty Cook. Edna learned the hard way the difference between cooking for herself and Boyd and cooking for 30 men three times a day for weeks. But the girls had loads of fun; Edna could always see the funny side. They became lifelong friends and would be weary but still laughing at the end of the LONG days. After a year or so, Boyd and Edna turned to their main interest of raising, training and racing thoroughbred horses. With their main residence south of Walsh, they raced all over the United States and into Old Mexico while Dean and his boys tended the non-racers, mares and colts at home. They lived in a tiny camper trailer during their racing days. Boyd would be up at the crack of dawn with his stop watch in hand timing the racers while Edna mucked out the stalls and put in feed, then she would hit the showers to wash her naturally curly hair and still smiling, look fresh and ready for the afternoon races and pictures when they won. They had many good horses, but their biggest disappointment was not having a Kentucky Derby winner.
In 1978, they retired from the race track and bought a house in Walsh. Boyd's health soon began to fail. Edna faithfully cared for him until he died on December 17, 1991, leaving Edna alone with the exception of her little dog, Dilly, who was her faithful and loving companion until Edna moved into the Morton County Care Center. Edna's good friend and neighbor, Carla Hair, kept Dilly for Edna and lovingly tended to her until she died at an old dog's age in 2010. Dilly was cremated and was buried with Edna for eternity.
Edna was the last surviving member of her brothers and sisters. She is survived by a step-son, Sam (Karen) Cook and their two sons of Modesto, California; two special nieces, Melva (Bob) Livingston of Bullhead City, Arizona, and Carolyn Hall of Albuquerque, New Mexico; in-laws, Dean and Betty Cook; as well as a host of nieces, nephews and many friends.
The family requests memorial contributions be made to the Walsh Ambulance Service in Walsh.

Don't Sing the Blues

Don't sing the blues when things go bad,
Try to remember all the good you've had,
Things won't always go your way,
Look through the mist on a rainy day.
Sunshine will come after the rain,
As healing follows unbearable pain.
Let your smile be the sun to break clouds away,
Your smile can still shine if it rains all day. Ruth Moyer Gilmour