Teresa Marie Cooley's Obituary
Marie “Zsa-Zsa” Cooley passed away peacefully on October 10, 2012 surrounded by Jerry and her four children.
Marie was born on April 25, 1938 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; one of five daughters of Joseph and Rosalind Baudino. Marie was married on June 6, 1959 to Jerry Cooley and the two of them were soul mates in life and love for fifty-three years. Marie was a devoted mother of four children (Mike, Linda, Kevin and Carla) and grandmother (“Zsa-Zsa”) of ten cherished grandchildren. She also loved deeply, and thought of as her own, her daughters-in-law Karen and Mary and her sons-in-law Robert and Andy. Marie was a long-time resident of Arnold, having moved there with her family in 1971. Not only devoted to the care of her family, Marie dedicated her professional life to the care of others. She attended Georgetown University and then worked at the National Institutes of Health to enable Jerry to complete his engineering degree at the University of Maryland. After getting her children through their elementary school years, she completed her degree in nursing and then worked as a Registered Nurse in the Emergency Room at Anne Arundel Medical Center’s former location in downtown Annapolis.
Marie had a zest for life and a well-developed sense of humor. A fan of Texas blues, she particularly enjoyed listening to the music of Delbert McClinton, Big Joe Maher, Marcia Ball and Emmy Lou Harris. She and Jerry enjoyed soaking in music on Delbert McClinton’s Sandy Beaches cruises over the past several years. A voracious reader, she enjoyed the writings of Carl Hiaasen, James Lee Burke and Vince Flynn. Marie was a most talented quilter, making entirely hand-stitched wedding quilts for each of her children, and baby quilts for each of her grandchildren. These are cherished family heirlooms. Marie enjoyed traveling with Jerry and her family the most. She was the grand dame of memorable family trips to Deep Creek Lake and the beaches of Delaware, North Carolina, and Alabama. She and Jerry enjoyed many trips to California, and a particularly memorable trip to Singapore and Japan.
She was adored as both a grandmother and a mentor to her grandchildren: Brendan, Sean, Dillon and Kevin Cooley; Hannah and Noah Chapman; Kathleen and Emma Cooley; Jack and Shannon Armstrong. She instilled in them her values of determination and responsibility, tempered with kindness, humor and love of family through countless hours around the table in marathon games of Zioncheck rummy, a family favorite.
A celebration of Marie’s life will be held from 5 – 11pm on November 10, 2012 at the Ulmstead Community Barn located at 911 Lynch Drive, Arnold, MD 21012. Arrangements provided by Lasting Tributes Cremation & Funeral Care.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be sent to the Sjogren’s Syndrome Foundation (6707 Democracy Blvd, Ste 325, Bethesda, MD 20817 or http://www.sjogrens.org/home/get-connected/donate)
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