Remembering Evelyn Cooke by helping others, as she did in life

My brother Ian and I lost our mom in early June 2026 to medical complications from a brain bleed, but the underlying illness was Alzheimer's Disease. Our mom first showed signs of Alzheimer's about a decade ago. At first we made excuses for what we saw, became irritated by the quirks and forgetfulness, and passed things off as just aging. When Covid restrictions lifted and we could finally see mom in person, we could no longer miss the changes Alzheimers had wrought. Our mother was sick.

In the 82 years she had in this world, mom lived a quiet life had a big impact on her family. She was a power house of energy in a tiny body. She could be soft-spoken but loved to talk, sometimes for ages and ages. She was fierce in defending her family and friends and would do everything she could to be sure the people she cared about had what they needed. Our mom loved fiercely, with big emotions. She was smart, compassionate, deliberate in her thinking, and loved to plan things ahead. She loved to travel back to the UK, see her grandchildren, and talk to her sister and children. It was incredibly difficult to witness her lose her ability to plan, to hold a conversation, to remember, and to plan over the years. 

Alzheimer's took away mom's ability to think logically, to understand information, and to make decisions. It impacted her ability to connect with her grandchildren, to travel, and to take care of her home, her health, and eventually her finances. Sometimes it made her angry and irrational. Week by week mom's world narrowed until it was only as big as her memory care unit and the people inside it. But she was still mom - still Evelyn. Until the very last days mom loved to listen to music, to dance, to smile, and to be friendly. She still smiled at every child she saw and recounted loving her job as a preschool teacher and going dancing with her sister and friends as a youth.

Alzheimers took away mom's big energy, her zooming movements, and her vivacity. But it never took away her heart and her kindness. She may not have remembered all of us, but she knew how to love and that never changed. It is our hope that one day other families will not have to watch their loved ones suffer with Alzheimer's and that a cure and better treatments will be found. 

As we say goodbye to our mom and you say goodbye to Evelyn, we ask that instead of flowers you consider making a donation to the Alzheimer's Association - the place where we went first to find resources and information to help us on our journey with Alzheimer's.

So many families are battling this disease right now and will do so in the future. Any support you can provide the Alzheimer's Association will help this organization to help those families on their very difficult journey with this disease. 

Thank you in advance for your kindness and generosity,

Jayne and Ian