Obituary: Frank Cookingham

Beloved husband, brother, father, grandfather, friend

Frank Cookingham died from heart failure at Pomona Valley Hospital on February 8 at the age of 81.

He was preceded in death by his brother Clint, and is survived by his wife of 57 years, Marsha; sons Bryan, Shaun, and Jonah; daughters-in-law Angela, Christy, and Teresa; and grandchildren Steven and Marissa, Kirsten, Allissa, and Seaerra, and Ariah and Isaiah.

Frank was born May 6, 1941, in Saginaw, Michigan to Mary Catherine Gegenheimer and Owen Clinton Cookingham. He attended Michigan State University and Western Michigan University, where he earned his master’s degree in research and statistics. He later earned his Ed.D. in community education.

He moved to Ohio in 1979, where he took a job as a professor in the education department at Kent State University. In 1985 he got an opportunity for his dream job as an evaluator at World Vision International, a Christian nonprofit. He took the leap and moved to Chino with his wife and family and worked there until his retirement in 2011.

He visited more than 40 countries during his time with World Vision, doing humanitarian relief and development work while improving the lives of children and families across the globe. He had a particular fondness for and connection to Africa and its many different cultures and traditions.

He and Marsha moved to Claremont in 2009, where they lived until his death. He was a devoted member of the Claremont United Methodist Church. He loved math and numbers and enjoyed doing sudoku, was a student of the Bible, played the accordion, and loved to sing, including being a member of the Mountainside Master Chorale for a time.

Services will be held at 1 p.m. April 22 at Claremont United Methodist Church, 211 W. Foothill Blvd., Claremont, CA 91711. A private burial will be held at Oak Park Cemetery in Claremont.

In lieu of flowers, donations to Claremont United Methodist Church may be made in his honor at claremontumc.org/donate.

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