Doyce Hadley Cooke

Doyce Hadley Cooke, 85, of Milton, Florida passed away peacefully on January 27, 2025 with his son, Rolf, by his side. Doyce was born in Abilene, Texas on November 25, 1939 to John Edwin Cooke and Effie Mae Buchanan. He was an only child but grew up very close to his cousins. He spent his early childhood years on his Uncle’s farm near Bradshaw, Texas and then the remainder of his childhood he grew up in Loving, New Mexico. He graduated from Carlsbad High School in 1958. After careful financial planning by his parents, Doyce was given the opportunity to go to college. He chose Texas A&M University. He earned a spot on the “Fightin Texas A&M Band’ where he played trombone. He was a member of the Corps of Cadets. He developed close friendships at Texas A&M in which he would keep in touch throughout his life. He graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Agriculture. One of his greatest joys was his Alma Mater and the Texas A&M Band.

After college, Doyce signed up for military service and picked the Navy, as at an early age he was an avid reader and enjoyed books about ocean adventures. Doyce chose to make a career of the Navy and after twenty years retired as a Lt. Commander in 1984. During his time in the Navy he lived in California, Kansas, and Ohio. He was also a Vietnam Veteran and served on a ship during the war. It was near the end of Doyce’s Navy career, that he would meet the love of his life, Shirley, after being set up on a blind date by his close Marine friend (Skeets)’s wife, who was Shirley’s cousin Jean. Shirley and Doyce would marry July 2, 1981 blending their families as they both had children from previous marriages. They settled in Pensacola, Florida.

After he retired from the Navy, Doyce became a Merchant Marine and started his second career on hopper dredge USACE Dredge Wheeler. Doyce served as Third mate of the Wheeler and helped navigate and dredge the deep water ports of the Mississippi River, Gulf, and East Coast of America in support of commerce. Doyce spent two weeks on ship and two weeks home throughout his career which was a great sacrifice by him to provide for his family. During this time he gained close relationships with his shipmates as they were his second family. In 1991, Doyce earned a Master’s Degree at the University of West Florida.

For his retirement years, Doyce and Shirley moved to Milton, Florida where they were able to enjoy their home in the country. Doyce was able to have a garden and enjoyed riding his bicycle on the country roads. He routinely made it back to Texas to attend family reunions of his Cooke and Buchanan families. He was an adventurer at heart and in 2009, at the age of 69, he completed a 700 mile trek on his bicycle from Pensacola to his alma mater, Texas A&M, to raise money for his beloved Texas A&M Band. His next adventure in retirement would include his research on his Cooke family heritage where he spent many years traveling to courthouses and cemeteries from Mississippi to Virginia gathering data on his Cooke Ancestry. In 2017, he published his book, Our Cooke Heritage: 1720-2017, where he was able to trace his Cooke lineage back to 1720 while writing about what his ancestors may have gone through in life during that time.

Doyce was a loving, gentle, kind husband and father who worked hard to provide for his family. He was goal oriented, valued a strong work ethic, and the importance of academics. He was a great story teller. To his children he was a good role model, supporter, and teacher. Doyce’s interests included reading, history, gardening, bicycling, sailing, astronomy, genealogy, and keeping up with current events. He was a long time fan of the ‘Lake Wobegon’ radio program and would enjoy listening to it on his vintage stereo console. He loved spending time with his grandchildren. They may remember him for his ‘pet rocks’ or by his “Buzz ear”. He was married to his love, Shirley, for 43 years and is now reunited with her again.

Doyce was preceded in death by his mother, Effie Mae Buchanan; Father John Edwin Cooke; and wife of 43 years, Shirley Ann Cooke.

Doyce is survived by his son Rolf (Shelby) Cooke; daughter Angela (Daniel) Crocker; Step-sons James W. Dennis II and Tim (Melissa) Dennis; Step-daughters Sherry (Richard) Roberts and Suzanne (Frank) Troxel. He also leaves behind 23 grandchildren, 18 great grandchildren, and 4 great great grandchildren.

A service will be held on Sunday, February 2, 2025 at Bayview Fisher-Pou Chapel and Bayview Memorial Park 3351 Scenic Highway, Pensacola Florida 32503. Visitation for family and friends starts at 1pm followed by a funeral service at 2pm.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Texas A&M band:

https://member.tabaonline.com/give-onetime.aspx