Obituary of Edith Mae Cooke

Edith Mae "Edie" (Laffan) Cooke, 81 years old, of Wayne, born in Kings County Hospital the daughter of William "Dick" and Edith (Anderson) Laffan and raised in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn, NY, was the eldest of five sisters, the late Margaret Pearsall, Mary Auletti, the late Ellen Antioco and Maureen Spiezia. She attended Visitation, 98 Richard Street and finished her education at St. Joseph HS on Willoughby Street. Edie had a few jobs working in an office but she also worked at an ice cream parlor in her neighborhood. The legend goes that Bill, her future husband, heard that "the most beautiful girl in Brooklyn" worked there. He set his sights to meet her. The courtship was short and on December 12, 1949 they were married. They moved to Jersey City for about 3 years and then to North Arlington before moving to Wayne, NJ in 1957. She was the matriarch of the Cooke family, having ten children, Billy, the late Bobby, Edith "Honey Bun", Gary, the late Linda, the late Brian, Nancy Marilyn, John and Jennifer. She was the loving mother-in-law of Donna (Hempstead) Cooke, the late Sammy Miller, the late Albert Gabriel, Charlie Spetz and Judi Pine Cooke. Edie was the loving Nana of 21 grandchildren, Vanessa and Terance Cooke, Donna Cooke Macrone, Aimee Cooke Duffy, Katie and Meghan Cooke, Natalie, Nick, Edie Mae and Linda Miller, Nancy, Heidi, Charlie, Sara, John, Steven and Gwendolyn Spetz, Alexa and Lily Gabriel, the late William "Willie" Cooke and Jennifer Jones and the great Nana of Juliette Cooke, Natalie Edith Pelosi, Destiny Mcpherson and twins Olivia and Gabriel Macrone. Edie was very proud of her Irish and Norwegian heritage. She enjoyed all kinds of music, whether it be from the Big Band Era or Elvis, Creedence, or country music. There was a time when she loved to dance but 10 kids later and a business to run left not much time. She was a very big part of New Jersey Valley Amusements and dedicated much of her time there. It is true that behind every successful man is a good or great woman; Bill often said that she was still "the best looking girl out of Brooklyn NY". Edie was a very good cook according to Bill "the best". After the passing of her husband of 63 years, her illness began to take its toll. She will be sadly missed by all of her family and friends. Edie was and will always be very special in all of our hearts. Visiting hours will be Thursday from 2-4 & 7-9 pm. The funeral will be will be Friday, May 10, 2013 at 9:00 am at the funeral home and 10:00 am Mass at Our Lady of the Valley R.C. Church, 630 Valley Rd., Wayne and will be celebrated by Father ST Sutton. Entombment will follow at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, East Hanover. Memorial donations may be made to Wayne Township Memorial First Aid Squad, PO Box 291, Wayne, NJ 07474-0291