Phillips Carter Cooke, 91, of Marblehead passed away peacefully on May 14, 2023. He was born to parents Theodore Carter Cooke and Florence Phillips Cooke, on Feb. 28, 1932, in Lynn, just a few minutes before Leap Year Day.
Of his close childhood relatives, he is predeceased by his brothers, James Henry and Donald James, and leaves his sister, Nancy Cooke Latta of Pompton Plains, New Jersey.
He is survived by his three children, their spouses and six grandchildren: Jonathan Cooke and wife Sarah and their children, Rachel and Josh, of Newton; Peter Cooke and wife Mary Ann and their children, Maddie and Jake, of Westwood; and Jennifer Cooke Rotman and husband Richard Rotman and their children, Matt and Sam, of Westborough. He also leaves many loved nieces, nephews, and cousins.
Phil and his loving wife, Sally Smith Cooke, had a storybook marriage for 50 years and one day, until she passed away on July 10, 2010.
Phil grew up on Bradlee Avenue in Swampscott, where he attended junior high school. He graduated Kimball Union Academy in 1950, where he played on the football and tennis teams, and excelled on the ski team.
From there, he attended Dartmouth College, receiving a bachelor of arts in geography and a minor in history, where he ran cross country, was coxswain for the crew team, and raced and ski jumped for the Dartmouth ski team. He remained a devoted Dartmouth alumnus.
After graduating college in 1954, Phil entered the U.S. Air Force as a ROTC second lieutenant, serving as an intelligence officer in the 363rd Reconnaissance Technical Squadron and earned his honorable discharge at the rank of captain in 1957.
Following discharge, he spent many years in business as president of Hume Pipe Corp. and vice president and director of Lynn Sand and Stone Co, both family-owned companies based in Swampscott.
After sale of the family businesses in the early 1980s, Phil pursued a second career as a financial planner affiliated with Mass Mutual Life Insurance Co.
He had many interests and hobbies, including photography and especially genealogy. He researched his, his wife Sally’s and his three in-law children’s genealogies over the span of 30 years or more.
Phil was a longtime member of the Old North Church in Marblehead, a former member of Tedesco Country Club, a 50-plus year member of the Corinthian Yacht Club and a member of the American Legion as well as the New England Historical and Genealogical Society.
Phil was loved dearly by his family and had many close friends. He lived a full and active life, including many adventures shared with others.
He skied Tuckerman’s Ravine at age 12 in 1944; bicycled from Swampscott to Mackinac Island, Michigan, at the age of 16 in 1948; tried out for the Olympic ski team; climbed the Grand Teton in Wyoming via the Exum Route; fought forest fires in Oregon; skied at 121 ski areas over 78 years; climbed all 48 of the White Mountains over 4,000 feet in New Hampshire with his children and golfed at least 146 golf courses.
He also traveled extensively with his wife Sally to many parts of the world on six continents, to name some. An avid train enthusiast, they took many scenic train routes during their U.S. and world travels.
Visiting hours for Phillips will be held Wednesday, May 24, 2023, from 4 to 7 p.m. at Eustis & Cornell of Marblehead, 142 Elm St.
Family and friends are kindly invited to his graveside committal service with military honors to be held on Thursday, May 25, 2023, at 10 a.m. at Waterside Cemetery, 294 West Shore Drive, Marblehead, followed by a memorial service at 11:30 a.m. at Old North Church, 35 Washington St., Marblehead.
A reception and continuation of the celebration of Phillips’ life will immediately follow the memorial service at the Corinthian Yacht Club, 1 Nahant St., Marblehead.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Dana Farber Sally Cooke Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, 450 Brookline Ave., Boston, MA 02215, or via www.dana-farber.org.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy for the Cooke family may be shared at eustisandcornellfuneralhome.com.
