Dorothy M. Cook

Dorothy Mildred (Neagle) Cook, age 98, passed away from natural causes on Saturday afternoon, July 11, at her home. She has resided in Westwood since 1956.  Dorothy was the wife of Paul F. Cook, District Chief (Retired), Boston Fire Department, who passed away in 2013. Dorothy met her future husband at Jamaica Plain High School and enjoyed 66-years of marriage before his passing. Together they raised and are survived by three sons and a daughter: Bruce and his wife Jennifer of Westwood; Frank and his wife Sandra of Attleboro; Jonathan and his wife Kim of Mansfield; and Janna (Cook) Peterson and her husband Roland, of Sharon. She is survived by her eight grandchildren: Paul Cook, and his wife Samantha, of Whitinsville; Jesse Cook, and his wife Amber, of Watertown; Noelani White, and her husband Eric, of Taunton; Andrew Cook of Attleboro; Kimberly Difiore, and her husband Paul, of Attleboro; Elyse Peterson of Sharon; and Joshua and Thomas Cook of Mansfield. She was the proud great-grandmother of  Thomas and Jack Difiore of Attleboro. Dorothy was predeceased by her sister Gloria who passed away in 2007. Born in Boston on May 8, 1922, Dorothy was the daughter of the late George Edward and Mildred Dorothy (English) Neagle. She was raised and educated in the Jamaica Plain section of Boston, graduating from Jamaica Plain High School in 1941. Following graduation, Dorothy initially worked in the credit department of the Tidewater Oil Company in Boston. During World War II, she was the office manager of the Dictograph Corporation, also in Boston, a position she held until leaving to raise a family in 1949. A devout Christian, Dorothy was actively involved in church work, beginning as part-time secretary at the Rock Hill Baptist Church in Jamaica Plain in 1944. After moving to Westwood, she and the family attended the Evangelical Free Church, later becoming the church secretary, a position she held until 2004 when the church closed. While at Westwood she sang in the choir and was active in the women’s fellowship programs. She then attended the United Church in Norwood where she served as a Deaconess, choir member, and Vacation Bible School worker. One of Dorothy’s main interests in life was British history and the royal family. She had an extensive library of books and artifacts on these subjects, and thoroughly enjoyed her visits to England. She also enjoyed traveling and with the family visited numerous historic sites and cities in the US, as well as reunions of her husband’s WWII outfit, an Alaskan cruise, and island hopping in Hawaii. Dorothy and Paul traveled to Europe several times, as well as Bermuda, Hong Kong, Japan, Turkey, and Egypt. As a homemaker, Dorothy was an excellent cook and baker who passed along these skills to her children along with the importance of holiday traditions. She was an avid knitter from her youth and late in life knitted hats for newborn infants at area hospitals. In her mid-90s she was recognized by Sturdy Memorial Hospital for several hundred hours of volunteer work knitting these tiny hats. Visiting hours will be held from 10 to noon on Saturday, July 18, at the Folsom Funeral Home, 649 High Street (Rte. 109), Westwood, followed by a funeral service at the United Church of Norwood, 595 Washington Street (Rte. 1A), Norwood, MA 02062 at 12:30. Internment will follow at the New Westwood Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations to the United Church of Norwood at the above address, or to the Gordon College Fund, c/o Gordon College, 255 Grapevine Road, Wenham, MA 01984 would be appreciated.