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Obituary for Arlie Lorene Cook
Former longtime Oakland, Ore. resident Arlie Lorene Cook, 89, passed away at a local foster care home in Brookings, Ore. on November 1, 2015. Arlie was born in August 16, 1926 in Marietta, Miss., one of nine children to Robert and Della (Hoarde) Peppers. One infant sister passed away from diphtheria at the age of two months. Arlie was married at the age of 15 to Orville Slusser. They had one daughter, Mary Lee. Orville passed away the following year leaving Arlie working in the cotton fields carrying her infant daughter on her back. A year later, Arlie married Johnnie Cook. They had two daughters, Joyce and Patricia. They moved to West Virginia where Johnnie worked in the coal mines. In 1952, they made their way to Oakland, Ore. where Johnnie and Arlie both worked for Roseburg Lumber. They worked hard to raise their daughters – trying to make an easier life for them then they had. Johnnie died from complications of Black Lung disease from his work in the coal mines. Arlie was his caregiver and held his hand as Jesus received his soul. Arlie would later embrace a special friend, Grant Wilson, who would also precede her in death. Arlie’s daughters, Joyce McGrath and Mary Lee Howard would also precede her in death which left her heart heavy with grief. Her doctor encouraged her to move to Brookings to be near her surviving daughter, Pat, which she did in 2012. Arlie always longed to go home. Survivors include her daughter, Patricia Johnson and her husband, Carl of Brookings; grandchildren, Kim Szalkiewicz, her husband, Mark, and their three sons, Travis Sallander and his daughter, Tammy Cummings and her son, Wesley May, his wife, Debbie, their two children and grandchildren, and Robert and Scott McGrath; brother, Billy Ray Peppers of Missouri. In addition to her husbands and daughters, Arlie was preceded in death by seven siblings. A private service will be held. Interment will be at the Cedar Hill Cemetery in Oakland, Ore. Redwood Memorial Chapel is assisting the family. Condolences may be expressed online at www.redwoodmemorial.net.
