A caring and loving mother Roxie Manning Cook, daughter of Augustus M. and Annie Florence Cornett Duckworth, was born Nov. 14, 1917 in Toledo, Mo. She departed this life Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2007 in St. John’s Hospital Springfield, at the age of 90 years and 20 days.
On Sept. 11, 1936, Roxie was united in marriage to Richard H. Cook and to this union seven children were born.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Richard, on Jan. 5, 1968; a daughter, Carolyn Cook; four sisters, Bonnie Saunders, Lelia Snelson, Goldie Kolb, and Sylvia Whitaker; two brothers, Oakley Duckworth and Orvel Lee Duckworth; two sisters-in-law, Laura Potter and Mildred Friend and her husband, Ray Friend; and a brother-in-law, Claudy Cook; as well as her step-father, Audie Roller.
Roxie is survived by her children, Marie H’Doubler and her husband, Francis, of Springfield, Earnestine Russell, of Grove, Okla., Shirley Scroggins, of Sherman, Texas, Kenneth Cook and wife, Eunice, of Tulsa, Okla., Linda O’Shea, of Tulsa, Okla., and Mary McHaffie and husband, George, of Fordland; 22 grand-children; 44 great-grandchildren, 27 great-great-grandchildren; a number of nieces and nephews along with a host of other relatives and friends.
Roxie spent most of her life in the Fordland area. She was a caring and loving mother who worked hard to make a good home for her family.
Early in life, Roxie had accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior. She became a member of West Finley Baptist Church in 1952, where she served as an elder. She was a devoted Christian who loved the Lord and her church, and read her Bible daily.
She loved the farm life and enjoyed the outdoors where she raised chickens and other livestock and also kept large garden, which she worked in almost everyday of her life.
In her spare time, she enjoyed doing handwork, making many beautiful quilts and embroidered works. She loved spending time with her grandchildren whom she loved dearly and considered them her most precious gifts. She especially enjoyed teaching them the basics of life and how to survive during the hard times.
Roxie was a loving mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, great-great-grandmother, and aunt and was a caring neighbor and friend.
Services will be held 1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 8, in the West Finley Baptist Church, in Fordland, with Rev. Melvin Napier and Rev. Kelly Jones officiating, with burial to follow in the West Finley Cemetery. Services are under the direction of Holman-Howe Funeral Home of Seymour. No formal visitation will be held and friends may call at their convenience in the funeral home.
