Marie Elizabeth Cook

(Marie) Elizabeth Cook, age 74, passed away peacefully on February 14, 2020. Elizabeth grew up in Grand Rapids where she attended Marywood Academy. She applied to one college (University of Michigan) because someone told her it was the best in the state and, of course, she got in. After earning a degree in History and Library Studies, she spent 20+ years in the Britton/Clinton/Tecumseh, Michigan area where she held various library positions while raising her three girls. After getting all of three out of the house and off to college, she continued to grow her library career, following roles and making new lifelong friends in Niles, Michigan and then Beloit, Wisconsin. She returned to Michigan after retirement to be closer to family, including her three grandchildren. She was a steady/reliable force in that role as Grandma - all three kids knew they could always count on her in the good times (planting yearly flowers, making homemade applesauce together) and bad (a kid threw up or got in trouble at school – can you pick him/her up?). She also joined all the libraries the area, volunteered at the Red Cross, enjoyed reconnecting with her childhood friends, taking trips with her best friend from college and striking up conversations with just about everyone she came in contact with. In 2014 she started battling cancer, and for many years beat it back with the help of a number of fantastic people in and out of the medical community. She said herself that, while she wouldn’t have chosen this fight, it had brought a number of wonderful people into her life that she would not have known otherwise – so it wasn’t all bad. While that cancer kept punching back and ultimately took over, the family is also thankful for the time, support, and assistance those people gave to us as well. While one could never properly provide all the highlights to nearly 75 years of a great life, here are some that occurred to us: • She knew everything (or at least knew how to find it out as a reference librarian)…you simply did NOT play Trivia Pursuit with her with any hope of winning. • She has most definitely read more books than you. (She basked in a feeling of ‘being a kid in the candy store’ with the access to all the libraries in the area. She read Every. Single. Day. She used to tell us that if she did not have a book to read growing up, she would spend breakfast reading cereal box.) • A good percentage of the knitted items in south east Michigan came from her needles (whether you were in the family, extended family or at a shelter/charity, something of yours is warmer thanks to her). • She was a wonderful mother (not the doting ‘Pinterest’, home making, gourmet cooking, cooking baking, “my kids are flawless” kind - but the “you can figure it out, you’ll get no guilt from me about what I want for you – it’s your path, “I am raising you to be a be a strong independent woman” kind). We know there are so many more highlights to point out. Elizabeth is survived by her daughters Kristin (Vince) Vescelius, Robyn (Chad) Olson and Lauren Pray, her grandchildren Marlena, Ben and Lila Olson, brother Chuck (Sue) Juell, sister Kathy (Bob) Schutt and brother Michael (Janice) Juell. She was preceded in death by her beloved mother and father Clyde and Marjorie Juell. There will be a gathering Monday, February 17th from 4 PM until the 6:30 PM Memorial Program at Vermeulen-Sajewski Funeral Home, 980 N. Newburgh (between Ford Road and Cherry Hill) Westland. In lieu of flowers, please consider a contribution to: First Book at firstbook.org. First Book is dedicated to providing books to low-income families throughout the U.S. and Canada. To share a memory, please use the Share a Memory tab on this web page.

Marie Elizabeth Cook

April 27, 1945 - February 14, 2020