Betty J. Cook

She was the daughter of Isabel Mae Binns Cook and Clarence Cook.

Her Cook ancestors came to America in the 1600s and the Binns originally landed in Green Bay, Wisconsin from Prussia in the 1800s.

She grew up during the depression on her father‘s dairy farm, where she rode her beautiful horse Smokey. She remembered her mother feeding hobos on the back porch of their house and going to Lake Moraine for swimming lessons in the summer. She also recalled the troop trains that passed through the neighborhood during World War II and the escape of a German prisoner of war in the area.

The one room schoolhouse at the top of the hill near the family home at Sherburne Four Corner is where Betty learned her ABC’s.

She graduated from Sherburne High School as a member of the High Honor Society in 1947 and married Carl John Shepardson the same year. They moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, where she was employed as a secretary in an insurance agency. After several years they returned to New York State and built a house together and had two daughters, Jo Ann and Patti.

She worked at Tom‘s Drive In Sherburne and then was recruited by the Grand Union where she had a long career as a deli manager.

Betty retired at 60 and traveled extensively throughout the United States and Germany.

She was an excellent seamstress and created many of her daughter’s clothes while they were young, along with a number of prom dresses.

Betty enjoyed baking, especially cheesecake, chocolate chip cookies, and hot crab dip.

She took great pride in her house and property, maintaining beautiful flowers, inside and out.

Besides being an avid walker, she was a great animal lover and had many pets, especially Golden Retrievers, over the years including Tippy, Beau, Dolly, Lady, Roxy and her last companion, Sophie.

Betty played the saxophone in high school and maintained her love of music, playing the piano and organ and she especially loved dancing, parties and a good rum and Coke!

She was a former member of Saint Malachy‘s Church in Sherburne and Saint Paul’s Church of Norwich.

Betty also belonged to the Moose Club of Norwich for many years and was a championship shuffleboard player.

Among her favorite quotes were these ;

“ Neither Time nor Tide waits for Man”

“ The sun is worth $1 million dollars”

And, especially “Tally Ho”!

Betty is survived by her daughters and son-in-law‘s, Jo Ann and Joseph Shepardson-Gaylord, Patti Shepardson and Gregory Ulatowski.

Joseph and Greg were instrumental in her care in later years.

She is also survived by her beloved Grandson, Schuyler Shepardson McGregor and his fiancé Pantira Ratanapratum as well as several other nieces and nephews.

She was predeceased by husbands Carl John Shepardson and Frederick Rice Onyan.

Our great thanks to all the Hospice staff and nurses who were so amazing helping care for Mom.

We would especially like to thank Marilyn Smith, Joanne Tarbell and and Diane Carpenter for their many visits, cards and gifts, it meant a lot to Mom.

Donations in Betty’s name could be made to the Chenango County SPCA or Hospice.