Obituaries

Obituary — Sister Edna Cooke, O.P. Taught Music for Over 30 Years

Sister Edna Cooke, O.P., a member of the Sisters of St. Dominic, Amityville, for 77 years, died Nov. 17. She was 96.
Raised in Blessed Virgin Mary Help of Christians parish, Woodside, she attended the Dominican Juniorate in Water Mill, L.I. She entered the congregation in 1935.
When she was invested with her habit, she received her religious name, Sister Mary Brendan. She pronounced her first vows on Aug. 18, 1936. She studied music at Manhattanville and Queens Colleges. 
She taught at St. Joseph School, Astoria, 1936-61; Dominican Commercial H.S., Jamaica, 1961-65; St. Agnes Cathedral H.S., Rockville Centre, 1965-68; and St. Agnes Academic H.S., College Point, 1968-71. 
From 1973 to 2006, she taught music at St. Francis Cabrini, Bath Beach; Our Lady of Solace, Coney Island; Annunciation, Williamsburg; American Martyrs, Bayside; Christ the King, Springfield Gardens; St. Margaret’s, Middle Village; Our Lady of Hope, Middle Village; St. Bartholomew, Elmhurst; Incarnation, Queens Village; and Notre Dame, New Hyde Park, L.I. Beside regular music lessons in the classroom, she was involved with school bands, orchestras, choirs and glee clubs. 
She is predeceased by her sister, Sister Regina Cooke, O.P., who died in 2003.
A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated in St. Albert Chapel, Amityville, Nov. 21. Interment in the Sisters’ Cemetery followed.