1956

OBITUARY

1960

Marian Cook, who taught school for more than 40 years in Henry County, died Thursday in
Chattanooga.

During her years in the classroom, she was recognized as a local and regional teacher of the year, and her influence as felt for decades. Near the end of her career, 11 of 52 faculty mem-
bers at Henry County High School where she was teaching, had been her former students.

She retired in 1978 after teaching mathematics for 41 years. Miss Cook graduated from
Grove High School and earned an associate's degree, cum laude, in math from Judson College in Marion, Ala.

She returned to Henry County beginning her career at Cottage Grove High School, where she
taught for two years. She also taught for 2-1/2 years at Buchanan High School.

Later she returned to school at George Peabody College for Teachers, which was affiliated
with Vanderbilt University, earning a master's degree in math from the school.

After receiving her master's, she taught for 27-1/2 years at Grove High School and nine years at Henry County High School.

In 1972, she was named Henry County Teacher of the Year and Northwest Tennessee Region
Teacher of the Year. She was one of five finalists for Tennessee Teacher of the Year in 1973.

Miss Cook served as director of Friends of Rhea Public Library from 1985-87. She was the honoree at the 1995 Betsy Ross Foundation scholarship meal, when a scholarship was named for her.

She also excelled in painting. The Paris-Henry County Arts Council's 2003 Community Artists Showcase was dedicated to her. A special exhibit of her watercolors was displayed at the
showcase.
In retirement. Miss Cook was active with the Henry County Medical Center Auxiliary.

OBITUARY

Former Henry Countian and retired school teacher Marian Louise Cook, 91, of Soddy-Daisy died Thursday, Aug. 25, 2005, at Kindred Hospital in Chattanooga.
Her funeral will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at Ridgeway Funeral Home.

Charles Orr will officiate. Burial will be in Maplewood Cemetery.

Visitation will be after noon Sunday.

Born in Paris on Aug. 28, 1913, she was a daughter of James Wesley J.W. Cook and Virgie Hagan Cook.

Miss Cook was a member of First Baptist Church in Paris. She taught for more than 40 years in Henry County high schools.

She leaves a niece: Gail (Bill) Perry of Soddy-Daisy; and two nephews: Rusty (Nancy) Moore of Danville, Ky., and James Moore of California.

She also was preceded in death by two sisters: Catherine Cook and Virginia Moore.

Miss Cook taught school for more than 40 years in Henry County.

During her years in the classroom, she was recognized as a local and regional teacher of the year, and her influence was felt for decades. Near the end of her career, 11 of 52 faculty members at Henry County High School where she was teaching, had been her former students.

She retired in 1978 after teaching mathematics for 41 years.

She graduated from Grove High School and earned an associate’s degree, cum laude, in math from Judson College in Marion, Ala.

She returned to Henry County beginning her career at Cottage Grove High School, where she taught for two years. She also taught for 2-1/2 years at Buchanan High School.

Later she returned to school at George Peabody College for Teachers, which was affiliated with Vanderbilt University, earning a master’s degree in math from the school.

After receiving her master’s, she taught for 27-1/2 years at Grove High School and nine years at Henry County High School.

In 1972, she was named Henry County Teacher of the Year and Northwest Tennessee Region Teacher of the Year. She was one of five finalists for Tennessee Teacher of the Year in 1973.

Miss Cook served as director of Friends of Rhea Public Library from 1985-87.

She was the honoree at the 1995 Betsy Ross Foundation scholarship meal, when a scholarship was named for her.

She also excelled in painting. The Paris-Henry County Arts Council’s 2003 Community Artists Showcase was dedicated to her. A special exhibit of her watercolors was displayed at the showcase.

In retirement, Miss Cook was active with the Henry County Medical Center Auxiliary.

From August 29, 2005  Edition ~ The PARIS  POST-INTELLIGENCER

EDITORIAL


Under Miss Cook, math made sense

Teacher had ability
to get concepts across

Some students consider mathematics as their worst subject. How often have you
heard someone say, "I'm no good at arithmetic."

Those students probably didn't have Marian Cook as a teacher.

She had an uncanny ability to explain mathematical concepts, to get her students to see the beauty and usefulness of working with numbers.

She had a sharp mind, a soft but precise manner of speaking and a calm demeanor that encouraged confidence in her young charges.

She commanded respect without demanding it. No student called her by her first
name, not even "Miss Marian." She was always "Miss Cook."

Before retirement in 1978 ended her 41-year teaching career, she was named teacher of the year in Henry County schools and in the Northwest Region of Tennessee and was a finalist for Tennessee Teacher of the Year.

She taught high school math, before the days of consolidation, at Cottage Grove
and Buchanan and ended her career at Henry County High School, but the bulk of her career was spent at Grove High School. She was a major reason for the school's reputation for academic excellence.

One 1950s graduate remembered that, in days before CLEP tests provided
college credit to those who could prove their ability, he was required to take first-year math in college. The entire first year covered exactly the same material he had already learned under Miss Cook in high school.

She was not without other interests. The Arts Council's Community Artists Showcase in 2003 included a special exhibit of her watercolors.
She was active in the Medical Center Auxiliary and was a director of Friends of the Library. She was a member of First Baptist Church.

Her students are her legacy. A comment on that fact is that as she neared retirement at Henry County High, 11 of the school's 52 teachers were her
former students.