Claire grew up in Arizona with her brother, Larry, and sister, Zona. Her father was a pharmacist and her mother was a school teacher. When Claire was 13 years old, she lost her mother in a car accident. She then became a boarding student at St. Joseph's Academy in Prescott, Arizona for high school. Once out of high school, she and her father moved to San Diego where she attended San Diego State College.
She met her first husband, Donald N. Sharp, when she was singing on the radio. He was the station manager. Donald was a pilot in the Air Force during World War II. In November 1944, their daughter, Diane Claire Sharp was born in San Diego. In December 1944, Donald died when his plane was shot down over Germany.
In 1946, Claire was visiting a friend at Newport Beach in California when she met her second husband, Frank (Ted) L. Cook, Jr. The day she met him, she knew she wanted to marry him. They were married in 1947 and bought their first house together in Arcadia, CA. In 1948, Frank L. Cook III was born and in 1950 Judith Marie arrived.
In mid-1950, the family moved south to La Mesa, California. Three more children were born: Carole Joanne in 1953, Janet Kathleen in 1955, and Thomas Edward in 1957.
In addition to caring for her six children, Claire was an active member of St. Martin's Catholic Church where sang in the choir. As the children grew into their teens, Claire decided to learn to play golf so she could join Ted, a long-time golfer, on the greens.
Once all the children grew up and left home, Ted and Claire decided to move to a smaller home in San Clemente, California. When Ted passed away in January 2000, Claire decided to move back to La Mesa. She lived there until her passing in September 2018.
Claire is survived by her six children, 17 grandchildren, 25 great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.conradlemongrove.com for the Cook family.
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