Genoveffa Cook, a homemaker and writer who met her husband while he was stationed in her native Italy, died Friday in her Severna Park home after a lengthy battle with breast cancer. She was 79.
The former Genoveffa Cernogoraz was born in Torre di Parenzo, which was a northern Italian town before World War II. Born the seventh daughter to a seventh daughter, she always considered that a sign of luck. Following the death of her father, her family moved to Trieste. It was there that she eventually met her future husband, Robert Joseph Cook, an American soldier stationed in Italy.
The two eventually began to date, which required him to receive permission to date an Italian citizen. The pair married in 1954, and moved to the U.S., where they were stationed at Aberdeen Proving Ground until 1969. They eventually moved with their daughter Ann Amalia Dean to Severna Park. The two were married for 34 years until his death in 1988.
Mrs. Cook loved to write, according to her daughter, Mrs. Dean.
In fact, Mrs. Cook wrote the memoirs of her brother Alberto, who was arrested in 1943 as a member of the Italian underground and was imprisoned at the concentration camp in Dachau, Germany.
She also enjoyed sewing, crabbing, fishing and spending time near the water, Mrs. Dean said.
"I remember my mother as being very strong and enjoying life," she said, "She enjoyed being here in the States."
Mrs. Cook really enjoyed being around people, she said.
"She was always very intuitive," she said. "She was sympathetic. Everyone thought she was their mother or grandmother. People were very comfortable around her. Everybody loved her."
A visitation will be held today from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Barranco & Sons, P.A., 495 Ritchie Highway in Severna Park.
In addition to her daughter, Mrs. Cook is survived by two grandchildren, Ingrid and Anthony, who both live in Severna Park with their mother.
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