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My Grandfather, Thomas Dewitt Cooke was born July 13th of 1888 in the Fruit Valley Community of Bedford Co. TN —4th in order of birth of the 6 children of William Green Cook(Nov. 16 1854-Dec. 18 1944) and Jane Bell King(March 5 1853-May 7 1921)
He married Pearl Gray Jakes (March 21 1891-July 1993) on March 10th of 1912. They were blessed with 6 children which made it to adulthood. His namesake and oldest son Thomas DeWitt Cooke Jr. died in Feb. of 1927 at the age of 9 during an outbreak of Scarlet and Rheumatic Fever after the family had moved to Old Hickory(Davidson Co.)Tn
Tom worked for the Dupont Company for many years and retired from there in August of 1953 after 27 1/2 yrs of service. The family moved to Dickson Tn in early 1970. Tom remained there until his death in March of 1971 after a long battle against Lung Cancer and Emphysema. He is buried in Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Nashville TN in the Cooke family plot.
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Rayon Record: Dupont Newsletter--August 5th 1953
Thomas D. Cook, spindle motor mechanic in the Maintenance group also retured under the age requirement, effective August 1. With an adjusted service date of November 25, 1952. he had more than 27 years service at the time of his retirement. Mr Cook was born at Fruit Valley, Bedford Co. Tennessee. Prior to coming to work for Du Pont he was a sawyer for three different cedar mills in Shelbyville Tenn. His entire twenty-seven and one half years with the Company was spent in the Maintenance Department. He started as an oiler and later became a mechanic. Since September 1941, he had worked as a spindle motor mechanic in Spinning Maintenance. Mr. Cook was married to Miss Pearl Gray Jakes of Bell Buckle and they have seven children. The Cooks reside at 1209 Calvin Avenue in Nashville. One son, Billy Joe, is a former employee and in military service in Korea. Speaking of his service on the plant, he said, Du Pont is a wonderful company to work for. I practically helped start up the plant and have seen many changes take place, practically all of them for the better." He was also very complimentary of the people with whom he had worked.
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"736 Years of Safety"Front Row: F. J. Powers, R. A. Hudson, J. S. Sanders, V. C. Drake, R. C. Murrell, L. N. Ward, R. R. Bradley, T. D. Cooke, T. R. Hammers, J. L. Jett, and Otis Hire. Second Row: J. L. Richardson, R. H. McCord, W. G. Scott, J. W. Drake, R. G. Adkins, L. T. Laine and G. D. Penuel. Back Row: W. T. Merritt, W. S. Lee, G. O. Sutton, R. C. Campbell, J. H. Raymer, H. A. Gentry, O. N. Webster, C. O. Guffee, F. K. Clemmons, Alvin Jackson, H. H. Bond and Stanton Gibbs. Absent Due to Shifts and Vacations: C. H. Poston, W. B. Butler, H. M Gentry, A. L. White, C. M. Loftis and W. F. Sandusky. | |