Foster family therapist, music enthusiast

Alice Ann Cook died April 4 at the Health Services Center at Pilgrim Place in Claremont. She had been sick for several months with cancer of the bowel and related difficulties in eating.

She was born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania on July 26, 1949 and was adopted as an infant by Richard Kennison Cook and Catherine Plesnik Cook, who was a native of what is now the Slovak Republic. Alice’s parents both served in the US Army during World War II.

From second grade through high school, the family lived in Glenview, a suburb of Chicago.

As an adult, Ms. Cook moved to Nevada, working several years for the Nevada Power Company. From there, she moved to Tehachapi, California, doing water treatment at the state prison. During that time, she met Bruce Jones, and they married on July 11, 1998.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Illinois and California State University, Bakersfield. She later earned a master’s degree in family therapy at Phillips Graduate University in Chatsworth.

Ms. Cook enjoyed working with foster children and foster parents, providing valuable service to families in Bakersfield. Upon retirement in 2009, she and Mr. Jones entered Pilgrim Place in Claremont.

She was very active at Pilgrim Place, working in the greenhouse and coordinating the weekly sales of organic fruit and vegetables grown on campus. She was also immersed in music programs, singing alto in the chorale and learning to play ukulele so she could join the Pilgrim Pickers. She was also a member of the Black Velvet band, playing and singing Irish pub tunes. She organized and led the Golden Oldies Trio, specializing in music from the 1920s through the 1950s.

Her loving and joyful presence will be missed by many, many residents of Pilgrim Place. She chose to donate her body to Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona.

A memorial service will be scheduled after the coronavirus restrictions are lifted.