YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (MyValleyTributes) – Nina May Cook, 103, passed away peacefully on Saturday, May 29, 2021 while still in the Continuing Healthcare of Boardman.
She was born on February 24, 1918 in Cleveland, Ohio to the late Oscar and Mamie (Atkinson) Bondesen. Her family moved to Youngstown, Ohio, in 1926, in the state Nina called her home for nearly 95 years.
Nina graduated from South High School in Youngstown in 1936.
South High School Alumni Honors
She took piano lessons when the family could afford it and spent her early years with her brother Sterling, enjoying time at Idora Park, going swimming, or going to Euclid Beach and the amusement park. She enjoyed the outdoors and rode her used bike whenever she could. In the summer, Nina and her friends went to Isaly’s shop for a chocolate or butter pecan ice cream. Her love for sweets never waned.
When she was in 11th grade, she got a part-time job at the South Side Library and worked in the nursery. In 1965 Nina went back to the library, where she helped move the library to the new building in 1968. She worked there until she retired in 1978.
Another favorite hobby was ice skating on Lake Glacier in Mill Creek Park, where she met Jeff Cook, with whom she started out. When Pearl Harbor was attacked on December 7, 1941, Jeff was the first person from Linde Bell Transit to come forward; his choice fell on the United States Air Force. In every letter he wrote to Nina, he asked to marry her. When Nina finally said yes, Jeff immediately bought an engagement ring and mailed it to Nina. They married in July 1945.
Their first child, Laurel Jean Cook, was born on March 1, 1946, and was born weighing two pounds and an ounce. She was the smallest premature baby ever born at Northside Hospital at the time.
In 1948 Jeff bought a morning on Summit Drive in Canfield for $ 100, and in 1953 Nina and Jeff were blessed with a healthy boy, Gary Wayne Cook.
Nina lived a very fulfilling and rewarding life and triumphed over countless challenges. She read stories to each of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She attended theater performances, music programs, sporting events, majorette and band shows, baptisms, birthdays, graduation ceremonies, weddings and anniversaries of all her loved ones. She survived the Spanish flu pandemic, the Great Depression, a broken hip, heart failure, broken ribs, lots of pneumonia and Covid-19. In her 80s, she was still a good climber of ladders to paint parts of the house she and her husband had built together.
She was a devoted patriot who served her country as a nurse during World War II.
Nina was an active member of the American Legion Auxiliary Canfield Post # 177 and was president, secretary, and chairman of Poppy.
She was also a frequent volunteer at the Canfield War Veteran’s Museum and a member of the Canfield United Methodist Church.
Nina enjoyed traveling and fishing trips to Canada with her husband, she was a member of the Canfield Crafty Club and enjoyed playing cards with her bridge club, “the Elegant Eight”.
After living in Canfield for 66 years, Nina moved to Northern Virginia in 2014 to live with her daughter and son-in-law.
Her parents, 46-year-old husband Jeff, brother Sterling, sister-in-law Mary Jane, daughter Laurel in January 2018, and son Gary in February 2018 preceded her in death.
At the age of 103, Nina leaves behind her son-in-law Stanley Rupert and daughter-in-law Beverly Vangeloff-Cook, six grandchildren, ten great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews and many dear friends who will miss them very much.
We are assured that because of her unwavering faith in Jesus, she will now enjoy a long-awaited reunion. A life so pure and full of grace will never be forgotten.
In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation on your behalf to the American Legion’s Auxiliary, Canfield Chapter. Please contact American Legion Auxiliary, Post 177 and mail to American Legion Auxiliary, PO Box 53, Canfield, OH 44406.
Friends can call on Saturday, June 12, 2021 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., followed by a memorial service at 11:00 a.m. Lane family funeral home, Canfield Chapel.
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