Maureen Therese Cook

Born January 20, 1944, to Quentin and Marilyn Frances Charles Cook in South Bend, Indiana, Maureen attended grade school at St. Monica’s and attended high school at both Penn High School and St. Joseph High School in Mishawaka, Indiana.

She earned her RN diploma from the Holy Cross School of Nursing in South Bend, Indiana, and then joined the Army Nurse Corp in 1968. She served our country for a year in Vietnam at the 45th Mobile Surgical Hospital as a Lieutenant. It was there she became a Christian through her friendship with a female nurse anesthetist. She served in the Army Reserve of Alabama and was promoted to rank of Captain. Maureen received the Army Commendation Medal for Meritorious Achievement.

Maureen earned her B.A. degree from Bethel College, her master’s degree in theology from Wheaton College, her master’s degree in counseling from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and attended the Institute of Linguistics in Boston, Massachusetts.

In Birmingham, she worked as a counselor at Children’s Hospital and was Nursing Education Director at St. Vincent’s Hospital. Maureen also served on the Joint Commission for Hospital Accreditation. Her love for others was evident, and she greatly enjoyed serving as a mentor for prisoners at Cook County Jail in Chicago, Illinois, as well as serving as a missionary for a year in Haiti. Maureen attended Mount Olive Alliance Church in Mount Olive, Alabama, and was an active member of the New Horizon Retirees Lecture Group at UAB. For several years, Maureen volunteered and helped establish The Family Worship Center Church in Eastlake, Alabama.

Both fun AND funny, Maureen had a great sense of humor. She enjoyed traveling to Ireland, England, Alaska, and to our National Parks. She wrote articles for Christian publications and wrote a five-hundred-page Christian novel. An avid Notre Dame Fighting Irish fan, Maureen never met a stranger and was always described as a caring nurse. In an introduction to a book about those serving in Vietnam, one person reflected, “If there was a sweetheart contest for the 45th Surgical Hospital in 1968, Lieutenant Cook would surely have won the crown. The O.R. Techs who served with her speak kindly of this wonderful lady.”

Maureen is survived by her sister, Marolee Kime (Mykl Dougherty); two nieces, Camberly Beatty (Scott) and Deneene Barrier; great niece, Rachel Beatty; great nephew, Grant Beatty; and by her special friend, Dr. Ellen McLaughlin.

Friends are cordially invited to a reception and time of sharing on Friday, May 22nd, from 3:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. at Ridout’s Valley Chapel in Homewood. Private services will be held for the family at Alabama National Cemetery in Montevallo, Alabama.

In lieu of flowers, Maureen would have preferred memorials honoring her life to be directed to a charity of your choice or a cause important to you.

Services are under the direction of Ridout’s Valley Chapel (205-879-3401) in Homewood.