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Karen Lee Cooksey

Karen Lee Cooksey

Karen Lee Cooksey, age 75, passed away peacefully on July 19, 2019, after an extended battle with Alzheimer’s disease.

Karen was born on April 10, 1944, to parents Dale and Bernice Wagner. As she sometimes proudly remarked, Karen was a farm girl, raised near Marietta, Ohio. After graduating from Marietta High School in 1961, she earned a bachelor’s degree in education from Bowling Green State University in 1965 and a master’s degree in home economics from Eastern Michigan University in 1983.

She and Bill, her husband of 51 years, met and married in McArthur, Ohio. Shortly thereafter, they moved to Michigan, where they raised two sons, Brad and Greg, first in Plymouth and then in Grosse Pointe Woods where they resided for 21 years. Looking forward to retirement, they downsized to a condo in Fraser in 2001.

Karen was a devoted mother and consummate homemaker and wife. She was an outstanding cook and expert seamstress. She rarely sat down, always involved in some project or activity. She served ten years as the girls tennis coach at Grosse Pointe North High School, and for 16 years was in charge of food service at Grosse Pointe Memorial Church. The latter included overseeing the preparation of meals for many special events and a weekly ecumenical breakfast attended by upwards of 100 men.

Karen was happiest when associating with her many tennis and golf friends. She was a past member of Plum Hollow Golf Club, Lochmoor Club, Scalawags Golf Club and Colonial Country Club in Fort Myers, Florida. Later, she found her greatest joy in life, participating in numerous activities with her three grandsons, who especially relished her pancakes and lively Go Fish games in Florida.

Karen is survived by her husband and life partner, Bill; two sons, Brad and Greg (loving daughter-in-law Kalli); grandchildren Will, Charlie, Niko and Jasmine; siblings Faye Patrick and Alan Wagner, and by many loving nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, sister Ferne Henthorn and brother Daryl Wagner.

Her memorial service will be at Grosse Pointe Memorial Church, 16 Lake Shore, Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan, at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday July 27th. Friends and family will gather at the church beginning at 10:00 a.m., together with a reception after the service. Interment will occur at a later date in the church’s columbarium.

Share memories with the family at their “On-Line Guestbook” @ WujekCalcaterra.com

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to Alzheimer’s Association (https://act.alz.org/donate).