Ann Cook

After a brief illness, Ann Dixon Cook died Monday, April 18, 2016 at Danville Regional Medical Center.  She was eighty-eight years old.  Born in Person County, North Carolina, on December 24, 1927, she was one of five children of Raymond Elmo Dixon and Idema Clayton Dixon.  Two brothers, Claude Dixon and Elmo Dixon, and one sister, Nellie Rae Terrell predeceased her.  She is survived by her sister, Betty Lou Dixon Bollendorf.Ann was married to John Vernon Cook, who predeceased her on October 31, 1964. She is survived by three children, Linda Cook Buckingham and her husband, David of Chesapeake, VA; John Vernon Cook Jr. (Vern) and his wife, Betsy Stendig Cook of Chapel Hill, NC and Hallowell, ME; and Michelle Cook Cahill of Danville; grandchildren:  Jonathan Buckingham, Paxton Buckingham, Charlie Cook, Sophie Cook, and Loren Cahill; great grandchildren:  Caroline Buckingham, Parker Buckingham, Mirele Cook Ciccarone, Xander Maurakis, Arianna Cahill, Gwendolyn Goad, and step-great-grandsons grandsons Kriztoph and Xzavier Goad. After the tragic, untimely death of her husband in 1964, Ann raised three children on her own.  Influenced by the Great Depression and coming of age during World War II, she possessed a strong work ethic and a powerful will.  Her example of living a courageous and independent life will endure for generations. After a career spanning over fifty years, she retired from Dan River, Inc.  Ann was an avid bridge player and a member of the Red Hats.Ann was a member of Main Street United Methodist Church and later Moseley Memorial United Methodist Church.  Her strong faith in God carried her through many of life’s greatest challenges. On the day before she died she said, “I want to go to the Lord. I’m ready to go.”Arrangements are with Townes Funeral Home, where the family will receive friends and loved ones Thursday from 7 to 8 p.m.  Funeral services will be held Friday, April 22, 2016, at 11 a.m. at Townes Memorial Chapel. Following the service, a reception for family and friends will be held at the Evergreen Room at Stratford House, llll Main Street, Danville.  Burial will be at 2 p.m. at Pleasant Grove Presbyterian Church Cemetery, 58 Pleasant Grove Church Road, Yanceyville, NC, where Ann will rest beside her husband, John Cook.