Patsy Cook
Long-time Wewoka resident Patsy Cook passed away Thursday, June 5, 2025 in Edmond, OK after a brief illness.
She was born May 11, 1939, in Holdenville, OK to Sylvester Barbee (S.B.) Taylor and Goldie Beatrice (Robertson) Taylor, the second of their two children.
As Patsy famously told, her mother named her “Patricia Susanne,” but her father, thinking that too long and pretentious a name, crossed it out and wrote in a more relatable “Patsy Sue.”
She spent her youth in Holdenville where she graduated from Holdenville High School as a member of the Class of 1957. While in high school, she was member of the famed Holdenville Elkettes, a group of young women ambassadors that performed dance and drill routines across the US, from California and Washington, DC - even appearing on “The Jackie Gleason Show”.
She married Doyle Cook, her high school sweetheart, in 1958 in Holdenville, OK. Despite a less than auspicious start to the nuptials - a game of pool and a flat tire caused the groom to be late for their wedding - the marriage was a loving one, lasting nearly 60 years until Doyle’s death in 2018.
As they built their life together, Patsy and Doyle ventured across the West from the oil fields of Wewoka to Odessa, Tx, and then to Albuquerque, NM.
In 1965, while in Albuquerque, Doyle and Patsy welcomed their only child, a daughter named Kristin René.
The couple returned to Oklahoma in 1970 and lived in Tulsa, where Patsy was active as part of Tulsa Public Schools Parent- Teacher Association and served many years as a dedicated “cheer mom” organizing and managing groups of students at Nimitz Junior High and Memorial High School.
Doyle and Patsy returned to Seminole County in 1983 and built a home in the Wewoka countryside. The home was furnished with beautiful American and English antiques sourced by Patsy during many fun-filled and laugh-laden jaunts across the US with her sisters-in-law. Patsy shared her knowledge and love of antiques and Americana through her many years as a member of the Wewoka Arts & Crafts Club.
An avid sports fan, Patsy spent many hours cheering the Oklahoma Sooner softball team on to victory. She particularly enjoyed sharing tales of her and Doyle’s adventures in Dallas at the numerous OU-Texas football games they attended across the decades. She often opened her home to family and friends to watch and root for the Oklahoma City Thunder, her favorite NBA team. She was excited this year’s team was making their way to the NBA championship.
One of Patsy’s favorite ways of helping Wewoka was to gather each year with family and friends to make hundreds of “cheese apples” for the Seminole Nation Museum’s annual Holiday Bazaar. Patsy, Doyle and the rest of the “cheese apple gang” spent over three decades crafting thousands of the savory treats for the yearly fundraiser. Patsy was at the Bazaar every year for over four decades to greet the public and sign-in donations.
Patsy loved nothing more than to be surrounded by her family. She cherished a house-full of relatives and laughter at Christmas and enjoyed being able to gather with the extensive - and extended - Cook clan at any opportunity. Patsy was a favorite of her many nieces and nephews and their ever-growing number of children and grandchildren, but she especially took pleasure in the time she spent with her grandson, Connor. She was over- joyed to be anticipating the birth of her first great-grandchild, Goldie, this July.
Patsy was preceded in death by her mother and father, S. B. and Goldie Taylor; her husband, Doyle Cook; and sister, Peggy Taylor Ellwanger.
She is survived by her daughter Kristi Boots and her husband Steve of Seminole; grandson Connor Boots and his wife Karlee of Edmond, OK; sisters-in-law Wanda Hensley of Wewoka and Willene Cook of Augusta, KS ; brother-in-law Glenn Cook and his wife Lucy of Wewoka; sister-in-law Shirley Clark and her husband Preston of Cleveland, OK; and cousin Ginger Taylor Gragg and her husband Rich of Oklahoma City, OK. Her memory is also deeply cherished by a large host of nieces and nephews, their children and grandchildren. The family would also like to extend their appreciation to Kristi Garner-Malinga and Kerri Garner Houghton for their kindness, compassion, and support during Patsy’s care. Viewing was held 1:00 P.M. - 5:00 P.M., Sunday, June 8, 2025 and 9:00 A.M. - 7:00 P.M., Monday, June 9, 2025, and 9:00 A.M. - 7:00 P.M., Tuesday, June 10, 2025 at Stout-Phillips Funeral Chapel in Wewoka, OK. Graveside services were 10:00 A.M., Wednesday, June 11, 2025, at Oakwood Cemetery in Wewo- ka with Larry Bailey officiating. Services under the direction of Stout-Phillips Funeral Home.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions be made in Patsy’s name to the Seminole Nation Museum in Wewoka or to a charity of your choice.