Errol Kirkwood Smith Cooke

Errol Kirkwood Smith Cooke was born February 8 th , 1943 and departed this earth at the age of 81 on March 7 th , 2024. Born in Falmouth, Trelawny, Jamaica W.I. to the late Aubrey Smith Cooke I and Beryl Viola Cooke, Errol was born at home and emigrated to the United States with his family in 1947.

As the eldest of Aubrey and Vie’s seven children, Errol grew up with the responsibility of looking after his younger siblings with love. In the home they shared in the Bronx, NY, whenever mom and dad and Granny had to leave the house for work, Errol was in charge as king of the castle, entertaining his little brothers and sisters with stories and games. Errol received the majority of his education in public schools in the Bronx where paved the way for the young Cookes who would come after him. He was on the track team at PS 22 Mott Junior High and he then “integrated” Grace Dodge Vocational High School in the late 1950s as part of the first co-ed class of boys and girls to attend the school.

After graduating from Dodge Vocational, Errol worked for all of his professional career as an accountant. He first worked for Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan during his 20s. He went on to work for numerous hospitals, hotels, non-profit agencies, and lumber companies in New York, California, and Jamaica for decades more. Errol was a workaholic who loved his profession; he would often famously take calls from clients and co-workers to solve issues and problems even at home and while on vacation.

Errol moved back home to the Bronx again in the early 1980s and continued to work as an accountant until his retirement. He was everyone’s beloved uncle to family and friends on the College Avenue block. Errol was a role model, father figure, problem solver, storyteller, record keeper, and the neighborhood historian.

Errol Cooke is survived by his sisters Maxine E. (Cooke) Howland, Lorna Mae Elizabeth (Cooke) Reid, and Linda Rose (Cooke) Crump, his brothers Lester Owen Cooke and Patrick Roy Cooke, their spouses, his 13 nieces and nephews and their spouses, their many children
who were his beloved great-nieces and great-nephews, and many cousins and extended family. He was preceded in death by his grandmother Elizabeth “Betsy” Fennell, his parents Aubrey Smith Cooke I and Beryl Viola (McGhie) Cooke, his brother Aubrey Smith “Smitty” Cooke II, his brother-in-law Walter Howland, his nephew Adam and his niece Chazarie.

He will be loved and never forgotten by a host of friends, family and co-workers.