Beatrice Louise Cook

Beatrice Louise Cook, age 102, died of natural causes at her home in Yakima, WA on December 3, 2023. She was born in South Tacoma on October 27,1921 to Boyd Byron Wells and Vera Louisa (Walters) Wells. Her family lived in a very small house on the prairie. She described the prairie as being beautiful with lots of flowers, trees, and a creek running through it. It was the perfect playground for her and her three siblings. They even had a zip line between two of the trees. Bea contracted polio when she was six years old which left her with a weak leg. Her siblings didn't slow down for her though. If she wanted to play, she had to keep up. This experience made her the determined, self-reliant person she was for the rest of her life. On May 15,1945, she married Lucian Ford Cook. They made their home in Tacoma,WA where they raised two daughters. Lucian worked in construction and Bea was a homemaker, a job she took seriously. Her daughters came home from school to the aroma of freshly baked cookies or bread. She led their Brownie troops, 4H groups and volunteered for the PTA. Bea made Christmas magical with decorations, handmade gifts, and wonderful food. Cooking for others was her love language. She fed people and cats no matter their hunger status! In 1964 the family moved to Mossyrock, WA so Lucian could work on the Mayfield and Mossyrock Dams. Two years later they moved to Olympia, WA where Bea acquired a job with the State, working as an accountant. She worked for the Department of Motor Vehicles, then The Interagency Committee for Outdoor Recreation. She loved having a part to play in the funding of parks throughout Washington, especially The Greenway, in Yakima. She and Lucian loved to dance. In Olympia they also joined a bowling league, and bought a boat so they could salmon fish in Puget Sound and at La Push. She retired from the state after 16 years when Lucian became ill, and then passed away. She needed a way to fill her time, so Bea and her friends signed up to deliver Meals on Wheels, which she continued doing for the next 17 years. She also took up golf, and ice skating. Bea traveled with her friends to Europe, Russia, Alaska and Hawaii. She really enjoyed her travels. She moved to Yakima in 2000 to be near her daughter and two of her grandchildren. Her three grandchildren, Andrew, Alex, and Linnea, were at the center of her universe. She was so proud of each one of them. She joined The Larson Gallery and enjoyed showing her watercolor paintings, art quilts, and French beaded flowers there. Bea spent the rest of her life in Yakima and continued her volunteer services. She joined the Senior Quilt group at the Harmon Center where she made wonderful friends. Together they created headscarves for cancer survivors, quilts for Cottage in The Meadow, and quilts for foster children. She was still sewing and baking right up to the day she passed. Bea was preceded in death by her parents and her husband, Lucian Ford Cook, her brother, Boyd Wells, sister, Barbara Mayes, and brother Burton Wells. She is survived by her two daughters, Marcia Louise Cook and Carol Lynne Fletcher (Tom), grandchildren Andrew Fletcher-Love (Holly) Alexander Niccoli and Linnea Fletcher. Beatrice was the Matriarch of our family and will be greatly missed.