Eleanor Hawkins Coke was born in Dallas on July 31, 1922 to Thomas Willis Hawkins, Sr. and Idela Myrtle Wheeler Hawkins. She graduated from Adamson High School in January 1940. She attended North Texas Agricultural College (now UT Arlington) from 1940-42, where she was president of her sorority, Sans Souci. She received an Associate in Science on May 26, 1942. On September 10, 1943, she married Elmer Franklin Crain, Jr., ENS, USN, who was lost aboard the USS Trout submarine on February 29, 1944. Eleanor worked as a stewardess for American Airlines from February 1946 until March 5, 1949, when she married Owen Stroud Coke, Jr. On August 31, 1951, she received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Southern Methodist University. She was a busy wife and mother, active in her children’s lives and at church. She served at Oak Cliff Presbyterian Church for over 40 years, teaching Sunday School for many years, serving on the Session, and serving as chaperone for the Westminster Youth Choir tours. After changing her membership to Hackberry Creek Presbyterian Church, she served on the Session, worked in the church library, and served on numerous committees. She loved gardening, working crossword puzzles, and reading. She is survived by her five children, Nancy Coke Schranz, John Brian Coke, Douglas Owen Coke, Betsy Coke Brock, and Geneva Coke Carter, as well as her grandchildren, Irina Brock, Peter Brock, Anna Brock, David Coke, and Michael Coke. She was preceded in death by her husband, Owen. It is fitting that she is being laid to rest beside him on their 70th wedding anniversary.
