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Janice Marie Cook
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Janice Marie Cook, née Clark, was born March 13, 1953, in Oakland, California, to George and Lenore Clark, the eldest of three children.
The family moved to Northridge, California, when Jan was 5 years old, and she recalled summer holidays in Tahoe with great fondness.
While earning an associate degree in fashion merchandising at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles, Jan learned skills that would stand her in good stead throughout her lifetime.
From designing quilt patterns and jewelry to library displays, she exhibited great talent in color, form, pattern and texture. Several of Jan’s quilt patterns were published in Quilter’s Newsletter magazine, and she was very proud that one of those patterns was used in Quilt Trails in Canada.
Jan inherited her passion for family genealogy from her mother. Together they established the Lake County Genealogical Society in 1977.
Interest in historical and genealogical research led her to publish her writings on several aspects of Lake County history, including Lake County’s involvement in the Women’s Suffrage movement, water rights history, Lake County’s World War II dead and the 1918 influenza epidemic.
She was a history correspondent for Lake County News and followed in her mother’s footsteps as editor of the Lake County Historical Society’s Pomo Bulletin.
Jan is perhaps best remembered for her decades of service with the Lake County Library. As she told it, the greatest birthday present she ever received was her interview with the library on her birthday in 1989.
She loved that no two days presented the same questions, and relished practicing her skills to assist patrons with their own research.
Jan was proud of her contribution to the automation of the library system, and pleased to manage the inter-library loan and Zip Books programs.
Having suffered the devastating loss of her husband in December of 2020, Jan soon received the news that she had cancer. The illness forced her to retire from her career long before she was ready to say goodbye.
Jan passed away at her home in Lakeport, California, on Oct. 8, 2023, following a lengthy struggle with cancer.
She is survived by her daughter, Eleanor Cook of Lakeport; stepson, Darby Cook and his wife, Jennifer Cook; grandchildren, Emily, Jaren and Edwin, of Spring City, Pennsylvania; sister, Elaine Bishop and her husband Roswell “Trett” Bishop, and their son Russell Bishop.
She is predeceased by her parents, George and Lenore Clark; brother, Alan Clark; various aunts and uncles; and by her beloved husband, Terry “Lee” Cook.
A celebration of life will be held at Chapel of the Lakes Mortuary in Lakeport on Nov. 21 at 1 p.m.
Arrangements by Chapel of the Lakes Mortuary, 707-263-0357 or 707-994-5611, or visit www.chapelofthelakes.com.
