Diana Jean Cook

Diana Cook, nee DeBolt and formerly Buck, died peacefully on Friday evening, Jan. 29, 2021, tucked in her bed at home and surrounded by family.

Diane was born in Duluth on April 21, 1938 to Lloyd DeBolt and Elaine LaMay DeBolt Storm. She grew up on Chester Parkway, remaining lifelong friends with several girls from the neighborhood. She attended Munger Elementary, Washington Junior High, and graduated from Central High School in 1956.

She enrolled in UMD to study speech pathology. She was one of the City of Duluth’s first female parking meter monitors, then called “parkettes.’’

Marriage in 1959 took Diane briefly to Escanaba, Mich., and Ashland, Wis. She moved back to Duluth in 1964 to a home on Anoka Street where she raised her four boys. She resumed her studies at UMD, but then began working as an executive secretary at UM’s Medical School Duluth Campus where she retired as an administrative assistant in 2002.

She loved camping with her boys and extended family at Lake Owen, and later at her brother’s and son’s cabins on Sweet Lake. She was a Cub Scout den mother and hostess of the neighborhood moms’ coffee klatch.

She hosted many grandchildren’s sleepovers, 4th of July barbecues, Thanksgiving dinners and Christmas Eve celebrations. She was an avid reader, keeping up with her granddaughter as new Harry Potter books were released.

Diane was a lifelong member of Trinity Lutheran Church.  She was in the Order of the Eastern Star, Chapter #242, serving as Worthy Matron. She lunched regularly with different groups of women friends.

In 2001, she married Walter Cook, a sweetheart from long ago and the love of her life. They traveled throughout the United States and into Canada. They enjoyed backyard gardening and birdwatching. He tirelessly and lovingly cared for Diane at home the past 11 months.

A special thank you to St. Luke’s Hospice Care nurses.

Diane is survived by her husband, Walter Cook; sons, Tim (Sally) Buck, Tom (Andrea) Buck, Ted (Dawn) Buck, and Tyler (LuAnne) Buck; grandchildren, Ian (Sen), Courtney, Aryana, Roxanne, Anthony, Nathan, Sam, Edward, and Isaac; great-grandchildren, Hazel and Lloyd; and siblings, Richard (Millie) DeBolt, Thom (Cindy) Storm, and Susan Storm.

She was preceded in death by her parents; step-father, Robert Storm; sisters, Sharon Storm LeDoux and Mary Ellen Storm; and grandson, Cameron.

A private family service will be Thursday, Feb. 4 at Sunrise Funeral Home. A celebration of Diane’s life will occur later.

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