Constance E. Cook was the former New York State assemblywoman who coauthored the law that legalized abortion in the state three years before the Supreme Court's landmark decision in Roe v. Wade.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ITHACA - The remarkable life of Constance Knowles Eberhardt Cook, an attorney, former New York State Assemblywoman, and the first female vice-president of Cornell University ended peacefully in Ithaca on Tuesday, January 20, 2009. She spent her last day watching the inauguration of the new president and discussing with friends at Longview her hopes for the new administration.
Connie, as she was known to her friends, was a trailblazer herself who ensured that those who followed would have a wider range of rights and opportunities because of her hard work and example.
Connie was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on August 17, 1919, to Walter and Catherine Eberhardt. She was born second in her family between her brother Walter, Jr., and sister Marjorie, a position she said forced her to work harder all her life. Connie's family put great emphasis on education, and since her mother regretted never attending college, she encouraged her daughters to pursue college and a career. At age ten, Connie's family moved to New York City, where she attended public schools and graduated from Hunter College High School.
Connie followed her brother to Cornell where she not only excelled academically but also found time for other activities such as playing field hockey, being captain of the fencing team, serving as president of the Women's Student Government Association, and getting her pilot's license. She graduated from Cornell with a degree in government in 1941. After she received her law degree from Cornell in 1943, she worked for the prominent Wall Street firm of Shearman and Sterling until becoming the first woman to serve on the legal staff of then Governor Thomas E. Dewey..
In 1951, she was awarded a Fulbright scholarship and traveled to Norway to study International Law at the Nobel Institute in Oslo and The Hague Academy of International law.
Upon returning from Norway, Connie opened a private law practice in Ithaca and in 1953, she became an assistant to Republican Assemblyman Ray Ashbery. In 1955, Connie married Alfred P. Cook, owner of Honeybutter Products, Inc. After Connie cooked meals for her new husband for six weeks, Al suggested maybe he should do the cooking and she could pursue something else. Thus began a union of two mutually-supportive partners that lasted nearly forty years and produced two children, Catherine and John.
Marriage and family presented Connie with the challenge of maintaining a home life and a professional career. Although she received great satisfaction from her work, Connie was very clear that her family came first.
When Assemblyman Ashbery announced that he would not seek reelection in 1962, Connie offered herself up as a suitable candidate, only to find no support from local leaders who felt a woman could not win in Tompkins County. Though pregnant at the time, Connie decided to run. She beat all four of her opponents in the September primary, delivered her son John in October, and won the general election in November. When some questioned whether she could juggle being a mother, a wife and a legislator, she invited them to her house to see for themselves. She maintained an office in her home where she was available to her family and could be a part of their activities. Throughout her busy career she always welcomed time with the family and friends at their camp in Temagami, Ontario or in the boat on Cayuga Lake.
Connie served for 12 years in the New York State Assembly and became the first female chair of a major committee, the powerful Assembly Education Committee. While in the assembly, Connie concentrated on health, education, and employment issues, always with an eye out for what would benefit women and the underserved.
Though her accomplishments were numerous, her biggest impact on New York and the nation came from her work on behalf of reproductive freedom. She authored and sponsored what is known as the "Connie Cook" Bill, a bill which decriminalized abortion in the state of New York.
In 1970, after passing in the state senate, the bill was introduced in the assembly, prompting one of the most bitter debates in that body's history, and finally passing by one vote. Three long years of working to build coalitions and negotiating an acceptable bill ended with the legalization of abortion in New York in July 1970.
Connie remained in the Assembly until 1974 and then returned to Ithaca, entered into private practice, and continued to fight for women's rights. She soon brought an employment discrimination suit against the Episcopal Church for not allowing an ordained Episcopalian priest a parish because she was a woman. The suit brought about a change in the church's law to allow for ordination of women.
Connie also served as Cornell University's first female vice-president, that of Land Grant Affairs, from 1976 to 1980. She ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Congress in 1984. In 1986 she joined the law firm of True, Walsh and Miller where she remained until her retirement.
In the sixty years that Connie Cook lived in the Ithaca community, she was a member of or played a role in the growth and development of a number of organizations, including Planned Parenthood, Family and Children Services, National Organization for Women, Kendall of Ithaca, Tompkins County Public Library, St. John's Episcopal Church, the Tompkins County Bar Association, and many others too numerous to mention. Throughout her lifetime, she received many honors and awards, including honorary degrees from Smith, Skidmore and Keuka Colleges. She was inducted into the Cornell Sports Hall of Fame in 1986 for fencing and field hockey.
Cornell's Advisory Committee on the Status of Women annually bestows the Constance E. Cook and Alice H. Cook Recognition Award on members of the Cornell community who make positive contributions to women or women's issues. She was also the first recipient of the Constance Cook Public Service Award presented annually by Planned Parenthood of the Southern Finger Lakes.
As a legislator, advocate, attorney, leader, and reformer, Connie tirelessly worked to expand the rights of women. Connie was also very much loved, and many people have noted her grace, intelligence, powerful spirit, generosity, warmth and integrity. During the last chapter of her life she became a beloved grandma to her three young grandsons. From her they received unconditional love and support and learned to treat others with grace, respect, and unwavering honesty.
Connie was predeceased by her brother, Walter, and her husband, Alfred. She is survived by her sister and steadfast friend, Marjorie Haupt (Wilbur) of Kansas City, KS; brother-in-law Walter N. Cook; her daughter, Catherine (Diane Russell), of Ithaca; her son, John, of Flagstaff, AZ; three adoring and adored grandsons, Nate, Louis and Alexander; three nieces, two nephews and many wonderful friends.
Her family would like to thank the caring and attentive staff at Longview who helped and befriended Connie over the past five years.
As Connie requested, charitable contributions should be made in memory of Constance E. Cook, Planned Parenthood of the Southern Finger Lakes, 314 West State Street, Ithaca, NY 14850.
A memorial celebration of Connie's life is being planned for early spring.
An obituary was published in the Ithaca Journal from Jan. 22 to Jan. 24, 2009
Biographical materials contributed by Starfishin (contributor 48860385)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As an undergraduate, she was a four-year competitor in fencing and hockey, and captained the fencing team as a senior. A wearer for the Women's Athletic Association 'C' she also served as manager of the fencing team as a sophomore and junior. In addition, she was president of the Intercollegiate Fencing Association and the WAA Council in 1941. Cook, who earned her law degree from Cornell in 1943, practiced New York City, Albany and Ithaca prior to her election to the New York State Assembly from the 128th District in 1962. She chaired the Assembly Education Committee, and served on Health, Labor and Ways and Means committees and several ad hoc committee and commissions. After she left the Assembly in 1974, she became Cornell's vice president for land grant affairs, a post she held from 1976 until 1980. She maintained a law practice in Ithaca.
Information from Cornell University Athletics
Possible husband: Alfred P Cook was born on October 10, 1911. He died on February 4, 1998 at age 86.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ITHACA - The remarkable life of Constance Knowles Eberhardt Cook, an attorney, former New York State Assemblywoman, and the first female vice-president of Cornell University ended peacefully in Ithaca on Tuesday, January 20, 2009. She spent her last day watching the inauguration of the new president and discussing with friends at Longview her hopes for the new administration.
Connie, as she was known to her friends, was a trailblazer herself who ensured that those who followed would have a wider range of rights and opportunities because of her hard work and example.
Connie was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on August 17, 1919, to Walter and Catherine Eberhardt. She was born second in her family between her brother Walter, Jr., and sister Marjorie, a position she said forced her to work harder all her life. Connie's family put great emphasis on education, and since her mother regretted never attending college, she encouraged her daughters to pursue college and a career. At age ten, Connie's family moved to New York City, where she attended public schools and graduated from Hunter College High School.
Connie followed her brother to Cornell where she not only excelled academically but also found time for other activities such as playing field hockey, being captain of the fencing team, serving as president of the Women's Student Government Association, and getting her pilot's license. She graduated from Cornell with a degree in government in 1941. After she received her law degree from Cornell in 1943, she worked for the prominent Wall Street firm of Shearman and Sterling until becoming the first woman to serve on the legal staff of then Governor Thomas E. Dewey..
In 1951, she was awarded a Fulbright scholarship and traveled to Norway to study International Law at the Nobel Institute in Oslo and The Hague Academy of International law.
Upon returning from Norway, Connie opened a private law practice in Ithaca and in 1953, she became an assistant to Republican Assemblyman Ray Ashbery. In 1955, Connie married Alfred P. Cook, owner of Honeybutter Products, Inc. After Connie cooked meals for her new husband for six weeks, Al suggested maybe he should do the cooking and she could pursue something else. Thus began a union of two mutually-supportive partners that lasted nearly forty years and produced two children, Catherine and John.
Marriage and family presented Connie with the challenge of maintaining a home life and a professional career. Although she received great satisfaction from her work, Connie was very clear that her family came first.
When Assemblyman Ashbery announced that he would not seek reelection in 1962, Connie offered herself up as a suitable candidate, only to find no support from local leaders who felt a woman could not win in Tompkins County. Though pregnant at the time, Connie decided to run. She beat all four of her opponents in the September primary, delivered her son John in October, and won the general election in November. When some questioned whether she could juggle being a mother, a wife and a legislator, she invited them to her house to see for themselves. She maintained an office in her home where she was available to her family and could be a part of their activities. Throughout her busy career she always welcomed time with the family and friends at their camp in Temagami, Ontario or in the boat on Cayuga Lake.
Connie served for 12 years in the New York State Assembly and became the first female chair of a major committee, the powerful Assembly Education Committee. While in the assembly, Connie concentrated on health, education, and employment issues, always with an eye out for what would benefit women and the underserved.
Though her accomplishments were numerous, her biggest impact on New York and the nation came from her work on behalf of reproductive freedom. She authored and sponsored what is known as the "Connie Cook" Bill, a bill which decriminalized abortion in the state of New York.
In 1970, after passing in the state senate, the bill was introduced in the assembly, prompting one of the most bitter debates in that body's history, and finally passing by one vote. Three long years of working to build coalitions and negotiating an acceptable bill ended with the legalization of abortion in New York in July 1970.
Connie remained in the Assembly until 1974 and then returned to Ithaca, entered into private practice, and continued to fight for women's rights. She soon brought an employment discrimination suit against the Episcopal Church for not allowing an ordained Episcopalian priest a parish because she was a woman. The suit brought about a change in the church's law to allow for ordination of women.
Connie also served as Cornell University's first female vice-president, that of Land Grant Affairs, from 1976 to 1980. She ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Congress in 1984. In 1986 she joined the law firm of True, Walsh and Miller where she remained until her retirement.
In the sixty years that Connie Cook lived in the Ithaca community, she was a member of or played a role in the growth and development of a number of organizations, including Planned Parenthood, Family and Children Services, National Organization for Women, Kendall of Ithaca, Tompkins County Public Library, St. John's Episcopal Church, the Tompkins County Bar Association, and many others too numerous to mention. Throughout her lifetime, she received many honors and awards, including honorary degrees from Smith, Skidmore and Keuka Colleges. She was inducted into the Cornell Sports Hall of Fame in 1986 for fencing and field hockey.
Cornell's Advisory Committee on the Status of Women annually bestows the Constance E. Cook and Alice H. Cook Recognition Award on members of the Cornell community who make positive contributions to women or women's issues. She was also the first recipient of the Constance Cook Public Service Award presented annually by Planned Parenthood of the Southern Finger Lakes.
As a legislator, advocate, attorney, leader, and reformer, Connie tirelessly worked to expand the rights of women. Connie was also very much loved, and many people have noted her grace, intelligence, powerful spirit, generosity, warmth and integrity. During the last chapter of her life she became a beloved grandma to her three young grandsons. From her they received unconditional love and support and learned to treat others with grace, respect, and unwavering honesty.
Connie was predeceased by her brother, Walter, and her husband, Alfred. She is survived by her sister and steadfast friend, Marjorie Haupt (Wilbur) of Kansas City, KS; brother-in-law Walter N. Cook; her daughter, Catherine (Diane Russell), of Ithaca; her son, John, of Flagstaff, AZ; three adoring and adored grandsons, Nate, Louis and Alexander; three nieces, two nephews and many wonderful friends.
Her family would like to thank the caring and attentive staff at Longview who helped and befriended Connie over the past five years.
As Connie requested, charitable contributions should be made in memory of Constance E. Cook, Planned Parenthood of the Southern Finger Lakes, 314 West State Street, Ithaca, NY 14850.
A memorial celebration of Connie's life is being planned for early spring.
An obituary was published in the Ithaca Journal from Jan. 22 to Jan. 24, 2009
Biographical materials contributed by Starfishin (contributor 48860385)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As an undergraduate, she was a four-year competitor in fencing and hockey, and captained the fencing team as a senior. A wearer for the Women's Athletic Association 'C' she also served as manager of the fencing team as a sophomore and junior. In addition, she was president of the Intercollegiate Fencing Association and the WAA Council in 1941. Cook, who earned her law degree from Cornell in 1943, practiced New York City, Albany and Ithaca prior to her election to the New York State Assembly from the 128th District in 1962. She chaired the Assembly Education Committee, and served on Health, Labor and Ways and Means committees and several ad hoc committee and commissions. After she left the Assembly in 1974, she became Cornell's vice president for land grant affairs, a post she held from 1976 until 1980. She maintained a law practice in Ithaca.
Information from Cornell University Athletics
Possible husband: Alfred P Cook was born on October 10, 1911. He died on February 4, 1998 at age 86.
Constance E. Cook was the former New York State assemblywoman who coauthored the law that legalized abortion in the state three years before the Supreme Court's landmark decision in Roe v. Wade.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ITHACA - The remarkable life of Constance Knowles Eberhardt Cook, an attorney, former New York State Assemblywoman, and the first female vice-president of Cornell University ended peacefully in Ithaca on Tuesday, January 20, 2009. She spent her last day watching the inauguration of the new president and discussing with friends at Longview her hopes for the new administration.
Connie, as she was known to her friends, was a trailblazer herself who ensured that those who followed would have a wider range of rights and opportunities because of her hard work and example.
Connie was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on August 17, 1919, to Walter and Catherine Eberhardt. She was born second in her family between her brother Walter, Jr., and sister Marjorie, a position she said forced her to work harder all her life. Connie's family put great emphasis on education, and since her mother regretted never attending college, she encouraged her daughters to pursue college and a career. At age ten, Connie's family moved to New York City, where she attended public schools and graduated from Hunter College High School.
Connie followed her brother to Cornell where she not only excelled academically but also found time for other activities such as playing field hockey, being captain of the fencing team, serving as president of the Women's Student Government Association, and getting her pilot's license. She graduated from Cornell with a degree in government in 1941. After she received her law degree from Cornell in 1943, she worked for the prominent Wall Street firm of Shearman and Sterling until becoming the first woman to serve on the legal staff of then Governor Thomas E. Dewey..
In 1951, she was awarded a Fulbright scholarship and traveled to Norway to study International Law at the Nobel Institute in Oslo and The Hague Academy of International law.
Upon returning from Norway, Connie opened a private law practice in Ithaca and in 1953, she became an assistant to Republican Assemblyman Ray Ashbery. In 1955, Connie married Alfred P. Cook, owner of Honeybutter Products, Inc. After Connie cooked meals for her new husband for six weeks, Al suggested maybe he should do the cooking and she could pursue something else. Thus began a union of two mutually-supportive partners that lasted nearly forty years and produced two children, Catherine and John.
Marriage and family presented Connie with the challenge of maintaining a home life and a professional career. Although she received great satisfaction from her work, Connie was very clear that her family came first.
When Assemblyman Ashbery announced that he would not seek reelection in 1962, Connie offered herself up as a suitable candidate, only to find no support from local leaders who felt a woman could not win in Tompkins County. Though pregnant at the time, Connie decided to run. She beat all four of her opponents in the September primary, delivered her son John in October, and won the general election in November. When some questioned whether she could juggle being a mother, a wife and a legislator, she invited them to her house to see for themselves. She maintained an office in her home where she was available to her family and could be a part of their activities. Throughout her busy career she always welcomed time with the family and friends at their camp in Temagami, Ontario or in the boat on Cayuga Lake.
Connie served for 12 years in the New York State Assembly and became the first female chair of a major committee, the powerful Assembly Education Committee. While in the assembly, Connie concentrated on health, education, and employment issues, always with an eye out for what would benefit women and the underserved.
Though her accomplishments were numerous, her biggest impact on New York and the nation came from her work on behalf of reproductive freedom. She authored and sponsored what is known as the "Connie Cook" Bill, a bill which decriminalized abortion in the state of New York.
In 1970, after passing in the state senate, the bill was introduced in the assembly, prompting one of the most bitter debates in that body's history, and finally passing by one vote. Three long years of working to build coalitions and negotiating an acceptable bill ended with the legalization of abortion in New York in July 1970.
Connie remained in the Assembly until 1974 and then returned to Ithaca, entered into private practice, and continued to fight for women's rights. She soon brought an employment discrimination suit against the Episcopal Church for not allowing an ordained Episcopalian priest a parish because she was a woman. The suit brought about a change in the church's law to allow for ordination of women.
Connie also served as Cornell University's first female vice-president, that of Land Grant Affairs, from 1976 to 1980. She ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Congress in 1984. In 1986 she joined the law firm of True, Walsh and Miller where she remained until her retirement.
In the sixty years that Connie Cook lived in the Ithaca community, she was a member of or played a role in the growth and development of a number of organizations, including Planned Parenthood, Family and Children Services, National Organization for Women, Kendall of Ithaca, Tompkins County Public Library, St. John's Episcopal Church, the Tompkins County Bar Association, and many others too numerous to mention. Throughout her lifetime, she received many honors and awards, including honorary degrees from Smith, Skidmore and Keuka Colleges. She was inducted into the Cornell Sports Hall of Fame in 1986 for fencing and field hockey.
Cornell's Advisory Committee on the Status of Women annually bestows the Constance E. Cook and Alice H. Cook Recognition Award on members of the Cornell community who make positive contributions to women or women's issues. She was also the first recipient of the Constance Cook Public Service Award presented annually by Planned Parenthood of the Southern Finger Lakes.
As a legislator, advocate, attorney, leader, and reformer, Connie tirelessly worked to expand the rights of women. Connie was also very much loved, and many people have noted her grace, intelligence, powerful spirit, generosity, warmth and integrity. During the last chapter of her life she became a beloved grandma to her three young grandsons. From her they received unconditional love and support and learned to treat others with grace, respect, and unwavering honesty.
Connie was predeceased by her brother, Walter, and her husband, Alfred. She is survived by her sister and steadfast friend, Marjorie Haupt (Wilbur) of Kansas City, KS; brother-in-law Walter N. Cook; her daughter, Catherine (Diane Russell), of Ithaca; her son, John, of Flagstaff, AZ; three adoring and adored grandsons, Nate, Louis and Alexander; three nieces, two nephews and many wonderful friends.
Her family would like to thank the caring and attentive staff at Longview who helped and befriended Connie over the past five years.
As Connie requested, charitable contributions should be made in memory of Constance E. Cook, Planned Parenthood of the Southern Finger Lakes, 314 West State Street, Ithaca, NY 14850.
A memorial celebration of Connie's life is being planned for early spring.
An obituary was published in the Ithaca Journal from Jan. 22 to Jan. 24, 2009
Biographical materials contributed by Starfishin (contributor 48860385)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As an undergraduate, she was a four-year competitor in fencing and hockey, and captained the fencing team as a senior. A wearer for the Women's Athletic Association 'C' she also served as manager of the fencing team as a sophomore and junior. In addition, she was president of the Intercollegiate Fencing Association and the WAA Council in 1941. Cook, who earned her law degree from Cornell in 1943, practiced New York City, Albany and Ithaca prior to her election to the New York State Assembly from the 128th District in 1962. She chaired the Assembly Education Committee, and served on Health, Labor and Ways and Means committees and several ad hoc committee and commissions. After she left the Assembly in 1974, she became Cornell's vice president for land grant affairs, a post she held from 1976 until 1980. She maintained a law practice in Ithaca.
Information from Cornell University Athletics
Possible husband: Alfred P Cook was born on October 10, 1911. He died on February 4, 1998 at age 86.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ITHACA - The remarkable life of Constance Knowles Eberhardt Cook, an attorney, former New York State Assemblywoman, and the first female vice-president of Cornell University ended peacefully in Ithaca on Tuesday, January 20, 2009. She spent her last day watching the inauguration of the new president and discussing with friends at Longview her hopes for the new administration.
Connie, as she was known to her friends, was a trailblazer herself who ensured that those who followed would have a wider range of rights and opportunities because of her hard work and example.
Connie was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on August 17, 1919, to Walter and Catherine Eberhardt. She was born second in her family between her brother Walter, Jr., and sister Marjorie, a position she said forced her to work harder all her life. Connie's family put great emphasis on education, and since her mother regretted never attending college, she encouraged her daughters to pursue college and a career. At age ten, Connie's family moved to New York City, where she attended public schools and graduated from Hunter College High School.
Connie followed her brother to Cornell where she not only excelled academically but also found time for other activities such as playing field hockey, being captain of the fencing team, serving as president of the Women's Student Government Association, and getting her pilot's license. She graduated from Cornell with a degree in government in 1941. After she received her law degree from Cornell in 1943, she worked for the prominent Wall Street firm of Shearman and Sterling until becoming the first woman to serve on the legal staff of then Governor Thomas E. Dewey..
In 1951, she was awarded a Fulbright scholarship and traveled to Norway to study International Law at the Nobel Institute in Oslo and The Hague Academy of International law.
Upon returning from Norway, Connie opened a private law practice in Ithaca and in 1953, she became an assistant to Republican Assemblyman Ray Ashbery. In 1955, Connie married Alfred P. Cook, owner of Honeybutter Products, Inc. After Connie cooked meals for her new husband for six weeks, Al suggested maybe he should do the cooking and she could pursue something else. Thus began a union of two mutually-supportive partners that lasted nearly forty years and produced two children, Catherine and John.
Marriage and family presented Connie with the challenge of maintaining a home life and a professional career. Although she received great satisfaction from her work, Connie was very clear that her family came first.
When Assemblyman Ashbery announced that he would not seek reelection in 1962, Connie offered herself up as a suitable candidate, only to find no support from local leaders who felt a woman could not win in Tompkins County. Though pregnant at the time, Connie decided to run. She beat all four of her opponents in the September primary, delivered her son John in October, and won the general election in November. When some questioned whether she could juggle being a mother, a wife and a legislator, she invited them to her house to see for themselves. She maintained an office in her home where she was available to her family and could be a part of their activities. Throughout her busy career she always welcomed time with the family and friends at their camp in Temagami, Ontario or in the boat on Cayuga Lake.
Connie served for 12 years in the New York State Assembly and became the first female chair of a major committee, the powerful Assembly Education Committee. While in the assembly, Connie concentrated on health, education, and employment issues, always with an eye out for what would benefit women and the underserved.
Though her accomplishments were numerous, her biggest impact on New York and the nation came from her work on behalf of reproductive freedom. She authored and sponsored what is known as the "Connie Cook" Bill, a bill which decriminalized abortion in the state of New York.
In 1970, after passing in the state senate, the bill was introduced in the assembly, prompting one of the most bitter debates in that body's history, and finally passing by one vote. Three long years of working to build coalitions and negotiating an acceptable bill ended with the legalization of abortion in New York in July 1970.
Connie remained in the Assembly until 1974 and then returned to Ithaca, entered into private practice, and continued to fight for women's rights. She soon brought an employment discrimination suit against the Episcopal Church for not allowing an ordained Episcopalian priest a parish because she was a woman. The suit brought about a change in the church's law to allow for ordination of women.
Connie also served as Cornell University's first female vice-president, that of Land Grant Affairs, from 1976 to 1980. She ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Congress in 1984. In 1986 she joined the law firm of True, Walsh and Miller where she remained until her retirement.
In the sixty years that Connie Cook lived in the Ithaca community, she was a member of or played a role in the growth and development of a number of organizations, including Planned Parenthood, Family and Children Services, National Organization for Women, Kendall of Ithaca, Tompkins County Public Library, St. John's Episcopal Church, the Tompkins County Bar Association, and many others too numerous to mention. Throughout her lifetime, she received many honors and awards, including honorary degrees from Smith, Skidmore and Keuka Colleges. She was inducted into the Cornell Sports Hall of Fame in 1986 for fencing and field hockey.
Cornell's Advisory Committee on the Status of Women annually bestows the Constance E. Cook and Alice H. Cook Recognition Award on members of the Cornell community who make positive contributions to women or women's issues. She was also the first recipient of the Constance Cook Public Service Award presented annually by Planned Parenthood of the Southern Finger Lakes.
As a legislator, advocate, attorney, leader, and reformer, Connie tirelessly worked to expand the rights of women. Connie was also very much loved, and many people have noted her grace, intelligence, powerful spirit, generosity, warmth and integrity. During the last chapter of her life she became a beloved grandma to her three young grandsons. From her they received unconditional love and support and learned to treat others with grace, respect, and unwavering honesty.
Connie was predeceased by her brother, Walter, and her husband, Alfred. She is survived by her sister and steadfast friend, Marjorie Haupt (Wilbur) of Kansas City, KS; brother-in-law Walter N. Cook; her daughter, Catherine (Diane Russell), of Ithaca; her son, John, of Flagstaff, AZ; three adoring and adored grandsons, Nate, Louis and Alexander; three nieces, two nephews and many wonderful friends.
Her family would like to thank the caring and attentive staff at Longview who helped and befriended Connie over the past five years.
As Connie requested, charitable contributions should be made in memory of Constance E. Cook, Planned Parenthood of the Southern Finger Lakes, 314 West State Street, Ithaca, NY 14850.
A memorial celebration of Connie's life is being planned for early spring.
An obituary was published in the Ithaca Journal from Jan. 22 to Jan. 24, 2009
Biographical materials contributed by Starfishin (contributor 48860385)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As an undergraduate, she was a four-year competitor in fencing and hockey, and captained the fencing team as a senior. A wearer for the Women's Athletic Association 'C' she also served as manager of the fencing team as a sophomore and junior. In addition, she was president of the Intercollegiate Fencing Association and the WAA Council in 1941. Cook, who earned her law degree from Cornell in 1943, practiced New York City, Albany and Ithaca prior to her election to the New York State Assembly from the 128th District in 1962. She chaired the Assembly Education Committee, and served on Health, Labor and Ways and Means committees and several ad hoc committee and commissions. After she left the Assembly in 1974, she became Cornell's vice president for land grant affairs, a post she held from 1976 until 1980. She maintained a law practice in Ithaca.
Information from Cornell University Athletics
Possible husband: Alfred P Cook was born on October 10, 1911. He died on February 4, 1998 at age 86.
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