Marie T. Cook
Matriarch of Well Known Lowell Family
LOWELL Marie T. (Payette) Cook, wife of the late James J. Cook Jr. and matriarch of a well-known Lowell family, passed away on Thursday morning at Lowell General Hospital. She was 84.
Born in Lowell on May 21, 1927, Marie was a lifelong city resident. She was the youngest child of Philip and Mary Jane Payette. She was married for 51 years to James J. Cook, Jr., who passed away in 2002. The couple met while both lived in the Flats neighborhood of Lowell, but eventually settled in their family home on D Street in the Highlands, where they raised their family. Marie graduated from St. Peter’s School and Lowell High School. She was a longtime parishioner of St. Margaret’s Church in Lowell.
Marie worked for several years as a clerk at Lowell Superior Court, prior to joining the City of Lowell Clerk’s office where she worked for decades until her retirement.
Marie was an avid bingo player, making weekly trips over the span of decades with her friends, most recently to the Lowell Elks Club.
She enjoyed gospel music and going out to eat for breakfast, lunch or dinner with her extended family, including her dear friends, Roger and Rita Landry of Dracut, her sister Helen O’Neil of Lowell, and Gina and Mary.
Marie was a huge cheerleader for her children and especially her grandchildren’s’ exploits, attending as many of their road races, plays, ballet dance performances, concerts, baseball games, track meets, Irish step dance competitions and lacrosse games as possible. In recent months, she made the rounds to nearly all of her grandchildren’s’ awards and graduation ceremonies. One of her favorite ways to pass the summer months, was sitting by the pool, surrounded by family and friends, and watching her grandchildren and great-granddaughter develop into capable swimmers.
She is survived by three children, a son James J. Cook III of Lowell and his wife, Candace, a daughter, Kathleen Goddard and her husband, Timothy, of Littleton, and a son Patrick Cook and his wife, Jacqueline, of Lowell. She was also the mother of Gerald F. Cook of Shirley, who passed away in 2003.
Additionally, she is survived by the grandchildren whom she adored: Jessica Fennell and her husband, Craig, of Dracut, Brianne Lemay and her husband, Chris, of Lowell, Christopher Cook of Lowell, Michael Goddard and his wife, Kate, of Lowell, Sarah Goddard and Joseph Goddard, both of Littleton, and Andrew Cook and Heather Cook of Lowell. She was also the great-grandmother of the dear Addison Lemay of Lowell.
She is also survived by her sister and best friend, Helen O’Neil of Lowell, as well as numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins. She was the sister of the late Ambrose Payette of Lowell, and the late Virginia King of Lowell.
COOK – MARIE T. (PAYETTE) COOK, 84, OF LOWELL, DIED AUGUST 11, 2011. VISITING HOURS SUNDAY 4 P.M. TO 8 P.M., AT THE MCDONOUGH FUNERAL HOME, 14 HIGHLAND ST., LOWELL MA. HER FUNERAL WILL BEGIN AT 8:30 A.M. ON MONDAY MORNING AT THE FUNERAL HOME. HER FUNERAL MASS WILL BE OFFERED AT 9:30 A.M. AT ST. MARGARET’S CHURCH, STEVENS STREET, LOWELL. BURIAL IN ST. MARY’S CEMETERY, RIVER ROAD, TEWKSBURY. IN LIEU OF FLOWERS, TEAM COOK WOULD PREFER DONATIONS BE MADE IN MARIE COOK’S NAME TO LOWELL GENERAL HOSPITAL’S GRATEFUL PATIENT PROGRAM, PHILANTHROPY OFFICE, 295 VARNUM AVENUE, LOWELL, 01852, OR ON-LINE AT WWW.LOWELLGENERAL.ORG PLEASE MARK DONATIONS FOR THE SPECIAL NURSES AT MS3 WHO TOOK INCREDIBLE AND UNFORGETTABLE CARE OF MARIE DURING HER FINAL WEEKS. E-CONDOLENCE SITE WWW.MCDONOUGHFUNERALHOME.COM
