Emily Louise Hurley Cook, born on April 28, 1941, passed from this world on July 29, 2024 to meet our Lord Jesus Christ and many family members that have preceded her. 

Emily and the love of her life James Cook were married for 60 years and resided in Molalla Oregon. Jim and Emily led a wonderful life, raised three girls, enjoyed homes on the beach, and danced at any wedding, restaurant or family gathering that they could, often clearing the dance floor as others watched them celebrate their love for music and dance. It was clear they were in perfect sync with eyes only for each other.  Jim will miss Emily dearly but knows they will be reunited in Heaven.

Emily is preceded in death by her Mother and Father, Emily and George Hurley, her sister, Barbara Bosetti, and step-father Phil Sheridan.  Emily leaves behind her husband Jim Cook, sister Mary Bresnahan (John), daughters Angela Sprau(Jeff), Emily Tragemann(Rick), and Denise Everhart (Michael).  Her many grandchildren will miss Emily as well:  Taylor, Nicholas and Morgan Tragemann; Annelise, Colin, Erik and Finn Sprau; and McKay Everhart, and her one great-grandson, Emmett Everhart-Evanson.

Emily grew up as the youngest of three girls in Bethesda Maryland, and enjoyed everything that community offered, going to the beach, playing basketball and tennis with her siblings and friends.  She went to catholic primary school and wanted her obituary to point out that the Nuns were wrong, smoking didn’t kill her.  She went on to the University of Maryland and received a Bachelor of Science in Education.  Emily was very social and went to concerts and dances her first years of college, seeing bands like Ella Fitzgerald, Bo Diddley and more.  She dated a different boy almost every weekend, but then she met Jimmy, and it was love at first sight.  Once he proved he could dance (and rumor has it had learned to dance soley for her), she knew he was the one.  They dated through the later part of college, and then married in 1963. 

Jim and Emily started their life in Baltimore, Jim in sales, and Emily teaching first grade.  With friends and family surrounding them, they enjoyed nights of cards, drinking and dancing.  They began their family in 1966, and shortly thereafter moved to New Jersey.  Emily enjoyed homemaking, sewing, and carting her girls around to their various sporting and arts & crafts activities, but her favorite time was on a tennis court, playing singles, doubles, mixed doubles, and always ruling the court. Her drop shot was legendary.

After too many long winters, Jim and Emily moved with their girls to Atlanta Georgia, enjoying more tennis friendly weather, and raising their girls with a touch of southern flair. They were active in the Catholic Church, joining the concert choir and holding a legendary Christmas Eve party, with the whole choir before they went to sing a Midnight Mass.  They enjoyed boating on Lakes Lanier and Arrowhead and ruled the courts at Kingsley Tennis & Racquet Club.   

Emily added to her very full life by beginning consulting and work in the IT and computer training field. She was a pioneer in all things computer as this was the early 90’s where mainframes and individual PCs were very cutting edge.  Emily excelled at learning on the job and ended up tech support at Wang and IBM. Rumor has it that at one point some key wires were unplugged causing an East Coast outage, but Emily came to the rescue and figured it out.  She helped many company employees learn the ins and outs of email, the internet, and various software programs.  Without her, we are sure our Dad would not recognize a computer if you paid him to☺

Jim and Emily retired to Florida, with a home on a golf course, a pool in their backyard and became very involved in their community.  One of their favorite activities was the Senior Olympics, where they obviously took the tennis awards home, but also were competitive in many of the other events.  The beach was a constant lure, and many fun days were spent there with their children and grandchildren, followed by crabs at a local seaside restaurant.  These retirement years were spent traveling as well, always enjoying a beach in a different locale, with trips to Italy, Hawaii and California ranking as their favorites. Emily also took up painting and she leaves behind some great artwork for us to remember her by.

Emily’s last years were spent in Molalla Oregon, with her husband Jim, and near her daughter Denise and her family.  She enjoyed trips to the coast, and seeing all that Oregon has in the way of natural beauty.  Her last years and days were filled with family, good meals, enjoying tennis and golf on TV, and playing cards remaining the Rummy champ until the end.   We will all miss her dearly, her sense of humor, and love for family.

A special thanks to the Caregivers that helped Denise keep Emily at home with Jim:  Anna Hutchens and Shelley Dana, Emily’s grandson McKay and wife Lyndsey Everhart (who moved in to help), her son-in-law Michael who kept all home repairs in check, and the Molalla Fire Department who built ramps to help Emily get around. 

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (AFTD). Emily battled Frontotemporal Dementia, a condition that affects the brain's frontal and temporal lobes, leading to changes in personality, behavior, and language. Your support will help advance research and provide assistance to others affected by this disease.