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Jane Rupp Cooke, 95, died peacefully, surrounded by her family, on Jan. 11 after a brief illness.
Jane spent her younger years in Pennsylvania and her teenage years in Maine where her father taught Forestry and Conservation at the University of Maine. The great outdoors was her element. She worked at an orchard picking apples to save up for a pair of skis and quickly became proficient on the slopes. While on the Middlebury ski team, Jane was helping to prepare the landing hill of the college’s ski jump and met Dartmouth ski jumper and future husband, Jim Cooke. Fast forward a few decades later, Jim and Jane were busy competing in the US Alpine Masters circuit and Jane was hanging gold, silver and bronze medals on every door knob of the house. In addition to her own gate-chasing, she trained US alpine officials in the nuts and bolts of running FIS ski races. As a certified Technical Delegate, Jane officiated World Cup competitions in Scandinavia, Canada and the U.S.
Way back in 1954, Jane and Jim were a part of a small mountain climbing expedition that was the first to summit a formidable peak in the Purcell Range by the Bugaboos of British Columbia. This feat won them the privilege to name the mountain. It must have been chilly up there because they chose to name it Mt Kelvin, after Lord Kelvin, the Scottish physicist who identified Absolute Zero! Following this risky venture, the couple headed eastward to Massachusetts to start a family, ultimately settling in Marblehead. They fell in love with the Town Class sailboat and the Corinthian Yacht Club where they became members. Later, during the 1980s when the number of racing Townies was dwindling, Jim and Jane Cooke's enthusiasm helped resurrect the fleet. Gradually, the appeal of the classic sloop and Bart Snow's lengthening trawl of Townies at the end of the harbor spurred the comeback of what is once again a robust and competitive fleet.
Jane was a guiding light for her four children and so many others. She fearlessly drove across the country with the kids, a dog and a tent-trailer…twice! She opened her house to four Swedish exchange students who have stayed in touch, reminiscing about their pivotal year in Marblehead and sending birthday greetings every year since. Continuing her tradition of adventure, Jane was an intrepid Girl Scout leader and Cub Scout den mother. She brought her scouts camping, biking, canoeing and on bus trips to Gettysburg, the Hershey's chocolate factory, Washington, D.C., and New York City. She was the head sailing instructor for the Hawthorne Girl Scout Council in the 1960s, a tour guide for Yankee Holidays in the 1970s and 1980s when she led bus tours from Boston to Quebec and Montreal and Fall Foliage tours around New England. Jane also put in over 55 years of volunteer work for the American Red Cross. She was passionate about organizing the Marblehead Red Cross Blood Drive as chairman and was a donor many times herself. Jane packed a lot into 95 years and will leave a lasting impact on many people in the years to come. She leaves three sons, Theodore and wife Linda, David and wife Lynn, Russell and wife Margaret, a daughter, Martha Cooke Somach and her husband Stephen and seven grandchildren. We will miss her!
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in Jane Cooke’s name can be made to the American Red Cross or to Meals on Wheels America.
Service information: A Celebration of Life is being planned for late spring. Once the date is set, details will be announced on Jane’s obituary page on the Eustis & Cornell website (eustisandcornellfuneralhome.com) where fond memories and expressions of sympathy may also be shared for Jane's family.
