Frances Ann Cook

DeeDee Cook, beloved Mother and Grandmother, passed away peacefully in the early morning hours of April 29, 2024. DeeDee (Frances Ann Plack) was born in Chicago, Illinois, in September of 1928 to Raymond Plack and Edith Earnst Plack. Her early years were spent in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Later her family relocated to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she was active in several school activities including Drum Major and school politics.

She was always a woman ahead of her time. She attended the Oklahoma State University in 1946 where she joined the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority and intended to get her Master’s degree in Fashion Design and Merchandising and move to New York City. That goal changed when she met a tall returning Navy veteran at a Sorority/Fraternity mixer. She liked his smile. Instead, she graduated in three 3 years with a degree in Education and she and Don Cook were married in their senior year of college.

After graduation, they settled in Midland, Texas. They traveled extensively through the Southwest for Don’s job in the Oil Industry. DeeDee taught school in Midland and they had an active social life in the young booming oil town. Midland is also where they had their two children, David and Allison.

A change in jobs for Don took them to Houston, Texas, where they lived for nearly 30
years.

In Houston, she opened a boutique bath accessory and design store, The Bath Shop, that she managed and operated for the next several decades. The Bath Shop boasted the largest selection of shower curtains in Texas and was her pride and joy.

After retirement, DeeDee and Don resided briefly in Tulsa, Oklahoma, before settling in at River Hill Country Club in Kerrville, Texas. They both loved River Hill. The golf and the country club social life were just their cup of tea for retirement. The annual activities there created lifelong memories for their children and three grandchildren during these years. After being lifelong dog people, DeeDee and Don rescued their first cat, Miss Kitty.

It was in Kerrville that DeeDee and Don’s nearly 60-year love affair ended with Don’s passing.

From there DeeDee moved to Tyler, Texas, to live near Don’s sisters and their families where she adopted her beloved cat, Rosey. Her next move was to Mansfield, Texas, to be close to her children for her final years.

DeeDee was known for the strength, independence and glamor as well as her hard-headedness. She lived a long and fulfilling life, leaving behind a legacy of love and resilience. She was a lifelong reader who instilled a love of reading in her children and grandchildren. No wait was ever too long for her if she had a book with her.

In Lieu of flowers and to honor this love of reading, please donate to the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy (click here to donate now) or your local public library in her name.

DeeDee is survived by her siblings Marilyn Brink, Constance Horn and Ray Plack, Jr., her children David and Ann Cook, and Allison Russell, as well as her grandchildren Brian Cook, Paden Russell and Brenna Russell.