ERMELO – Mr Anthony Cooke, a former resident of Ermelo, died on October 1 in his home in Winston Park.

Mr Cooke was born on May 31, 1940, in Ermelo, and grew up on the farm Kromdraai on the outskirts of town with his four siblings.

In his early years, he attended school at the Ermelo Convent, before transferring to a boarding school in Middelburg in grade five.

He spent his high school years at Hoërskool Ermelo, from which he matriculated in 1958.

Without any formal tertiary education, he joined Old Mutual and began selling life insurance policies and investments.

He worked at Old Mutual for more than 20 years.

Mr Cooke met his wife, Rosemary, in 1960 in KwaZulu-Natal, and they were married in 1967.

As a newly wed couple, they settled down in Eshowe, where their two children were born.

In 1980, an opportunity arose for him to join the Catholic Archdiocese of Durban, where Mr Cooke was appointed as the first person to be its financial administrator, a role which he held for 30 years before his retirement.

Mr Cooke retired in 2010 after he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

He leaves behind his wife, Rosemary, his daughter, Patricia, his son, Paul, and five grandchildren.