Obituary of Edith Belle Cockrum

Edith Belle Cockrum, 98 years old, born in Seattle, Washington to parents Herbert and Melissa Anne Hart, passed away December 16, 2008. Edith attended West Seattle High, and went on to become a ballet dancer and costume designer with the Lee Foley Dance Troupe of Seattle. In 1938, she fell in love with the boy next door, and married J. Vernon Cockrum of Edmonds, WA, where they lived and began their family of six children. She continued to live in Edmonds after Vernons death in 1959. Her dedication to her family was unwavering and as a widow, her love of children extended into many different homes as she provided daycare to families in the Edmonds area. Her passions, which she passed along to many, included caring for children and animals, gardening, sewing, literature, the out-of-doors, home canning, camping, love of the sea shore, music and fine arts. In 1991, she moved to Bothell, WA, where she lived until 2004, when she joined her daughter Joyce and family. She is survived and loved dearly by her six children, Jay Cockrum and wife, Jan, of Green Valley, AZ, Mary Price and husband, Howard, of Mukilteo, WA, Russell Cockrum and wife, Grace, of Stanwood, WA, Joyce Wiseman and husband, Craig, of Centralia, WA, Betty DeFleur, of Centralia, WA, and Dianne Silva and husband, David, of Wrangell, AK; 13 grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. A memorial service will be held in her honor at 1 p.m., on Thursday, January 8, 2009, at Becks Funeral Home, 405 5th Ave S., Edmonds, 425-771-1234. In lieu of flowers, please donate a book to your local library, adopt a stray or plant a tree.