On Saturday, September 5, Death tried to claim our mom, Stella Cook. But Jesus came to her rescue and claimed her as his own about 4:20 in the afternoon. Death, it seems, will never learn.

Stella Mae Cook (née Daniel) was born in McLoud, Oklahoma on October 3, 1930. Her parents were Viola Bascum Daniel (née Ramsey) and John Arthur Daniel. She joined her parents, her older brother, Arthur Calvin (Dan) Daniel, and her grandmother, Sophia London (née Ramsey),on their dairy farm in Pottawatomie County. When Stella was almost 12, her father died. She sat on the porch with her dog as her father was carried out of the house. Without John, the family lost the dairy within a few years. They lived with relatives in Newcastle for a time and then moved into a little house on N. Klein Street near downtown Oklahoma City. Stella attended Central High School, graduating in 1948, and then finished the Draughon School of Business course work in February, 1949. She went to work for the local chapter of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, whose offices were next door to her house on Klein Street.

Stella and her family were members of Downtown Baptist Church, pastored by W. E. (Willie) Cook. Uncle Willie, as we called him, had a younger cousin named Duane Cook who had moved to Oklahoma City from his home near Arcadia, Louisiana. Naturally, Duane joined his cousin’s church. The stories of Duane and Stella becoming a couple vary, but I like this version. The details are fuzzy, but the outcome is not. Duane came to a church social with a young woman named Nola Mae. He left the social with Stella Mae. And they married on May 6, 1949 in Downtown Baptist Church with Uncle Willie presiding. They were married for almost sixty-eight years when Duane died on January 13, 2017.

During those sixty-eight years Stella and Duane together reared three children: Gary Cook, married to Tammy, who reside in Bozeman, Montana; Patti Mauldin, who now lives in Ypsilanti, Michigan; and Debbi Ensminger, who lives in Enid, Oklahoma. Gary and Tammy have two of Stella’s grandchildren, Abbey Cook and Cassidy Cook. Patti has two more of Stella’s grandchildren, Sophia Karr and Ramsey Mauldin; Debbi also has two of Stella’s grandchildren, Danika Stidham and Lance Ensminger. Stella was also gifted with four great-grandchildren: Danae Stidham, Olivia and Isadora Ensminger, and Silas Karr. She also has 17 nieces and nephews.

Stella was preceded in death by her father, John; her grandmother, Sophia; her mother, Viola; her brother, Dan; and her husband, Duane. She is survived by all her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, as well as her little rescue dog, Buddy, who misses her, too. 

Being married to a Baptist preacher, Stella and family moved around fairly often. The list of towns in order after Oklahoma City is Norman, Ft. Worth, Yuba, Latta, Oklahoma City, Wynnewood, Wewoka, Kingfisher, Norman. The longest stays were Oklahoma City, Wynnewood, Kingfisher, and Norman. 

Through her involvement in all these churches and communities she loved and influenced people. She was a woman of strength and conviction. She took her role as “the preacher’s wife” seriously, bore it with dignity and, more importantly, without arrogance. By word and example she taught us to treat everyone as equals, to expect to be treated as equals, and to expect no special treatment. She had a strong sense of fairness and justice and passed it on to us. Steadfast and unflappable, she rarely panicked. She taught and expected us always to be kind. She will be remembered, as she would like, as a woman who led with a servant’s heart and whose home was always open and welcoming, a refuge to friends and strangers alike.

Stella loved her family, dogs (also family!), friends, wild birds, reading, sewing, WMU work at church, and music. She relished family holiday gatherings and meals at her house. She delighted in the antics of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Music was very important to her. She always sang in the church choirs. She tolerated and even sometimes enjoyed the 1960s soundtrack of her children’s lives that came from the stereo cabinet in Gary’s room throughout the high school years. She insisted her children learn to play piano, and somehow she managed to buy one for our home. Patti was the only one of us who stayed with it. Gary gave it up for guitar and she was proud even of that.

When her children were no longer at home she returned to employment, working in the County Treasurer’s Offices in Seminole and Kingfisher Counties. She retired from Kingfisher County as Deputy Treasurer.

A viewing and memorial service for Stella will be held at Tribute Memorial Care Chapel, 4300 W. Indian Hills Road in Norman. Viewing and visitation will be on Sunday, September 20, from 2:00 - 4:00 PM. The memorial service is scheduled for Monday, September 21, at 1:00 PM. Prior to the service the family will receive guests starting at noon in the chapel