CHHA Manitoba Chapter joins John Cooke and his family in mourning the loss of Cathy Cooke who died December 18.
Cathy joined the chapter nearly 10 years ago and became a Board member in 2008. She was always full of enthusiasm and presented great ideas for chapter growth and helped develop and deliver programs for Manitoba’s hard of hearing community. In addition to serving as our secretary, Cathy also used her background in information technology to help with our web site.
Cathy first heard about CHHA when she attended the Living With Hearing Loss program. Cathy had a severe hearing loss in both ears. She said the chapter gave her a voice in the community and provided her with many contacts to cope effectively with her loss of hearing. She felt very strongly that if you have a disability you should be active in your support organization to advocate for yourself and others. As a board member, Cathy worked to reach out to the many people who still consider hearing problems something that should be hidden.
In December 2010 she was able to travel to Newfoundland to receive a cochlear implant. She subsequently gave a great deal of her time to help others as they prepared for this surgery and during their follow-up programs. In addition to her understanding of the challenges faced by those with hearing loss, Cathy’s career in information technology made her a great resource to CHHA Manitoba Chapter. As a hard of hearing person Cathy was always ready to apply her experience and knowledge to help others with hearing loss to find practical communications solutions. CHHA Manitoba Chapter will miss her.
Please see the Winnipeg Free Press obituary listings for details on the service planned for December 28.
The chapter has received many memorial donations in Cathy’s name through our on-line donation utility as well as by mail. We extend a very big thank you for your generosity and kindness in recognizing Cathy and the work she did for Manitoba’s hard of hearing community.