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Date published: 12/1/2009
John Warren Cooke
John Warren Cooke, 94, of Mathews died at his home Saturday, Nov. 28, 2009. A graveside service will be held at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 1, at Ware Episcopal Church, Gloucester. Cooke was born Feb. 28, 1915, in Mathews, a son of the Rev. Giles Buckner Cooke and Katharine Grosh Cooke. A lifelong resident of Mathews, he was educated in local public and private schools, graduating from Lee-Jackson High School in 1932. He attended Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, from 1932 unitl 1933. Cooke was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from 1942 to 1980. At the time of his retirement, he represented Essex, Gloucester, King and Queen, King William, Mathews and Middlesex counties. He also represented Charles City and New Kent counties (1966-1972). He was majority leader of the House (1956-68) and speaker (1968-80). Cooke was the last son of a Confederate veteran to sit in the Virginia General Assembly. During his time in elective office, Cooke served on the Virginia-Maryland Potomac River Commission, on the Jamestown Anniversary Commission (1952-82), and as executive committee chairman of the Virginia Civil War Centennial Commission. He also served as a member of the National Legislative Association board of directors (1970-80). While in office, Cooke received the National Legislative Leaders Association award (1976), the Gloucester Chamber of Commerce Distinguished Service Award (1979), a Council of State Governments citation, the Liberty Bell Award, the Richmond Bar Association Award and a Virginia Press Association award. At the conclusion of his service in the General Assembly, Cooke was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the College of William and Mary in 1980. He was the recipient of a Christopher Newport College medallion in 1986, and received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Christopher Newport University in 1992. In 1946, Cooke was elected to the board of Tidewater Newspapers, Inc., publishers of the Gloucester-Mathews Gazette-Journal. He became president and publisher in 1954, resigning from the presidency in March 2009. Locally, Cooke was a charter member of the first Mathews Rotary Club (1938) and served as its president for two terms. He was president of the former Tidewater Baseball League, chairman of the Mathews Ration and Price Control Board (1943-45), first district chairman of the Young Democrats (1939-40), and former chair of the Mathews County Democratic Committee.
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