Mary Cockson

Mary Elizabeth (Walsh) Cockson age 89 of York, NE died at her home on October 6, 2007 at York. Mary Elizabeth (Mae) Walsh was born in Omaha. NE on May 10, 1918 to Linda (Miller) and William Walsh. She was the third of six children. When she was five years old, her father was killed in a construction accident. Her Godmother, Elizabeth Foley, lived nearby and she cared for the three youngest children. Mary and her two elder siblings were educated and cared for by the Sisters of Mercy at Saint James Orphanage in Omaha, NE while their mother, Linda worked at the Union Pacific Railroad Station Restaurant. As each child entered Kindergarten, they were educated at the orphanage. Each child in this family valued this experience and enjoyed the safety and security that the orphanage offered, until one by one, they graduated from the Eighth Grade and then returned home to live with their mother Linda. Linda worked the night shift seven nights a week and instead of resting on Sundays she would make an hour trip each way by streetcar to visit Mary and her siblings.

Mary felt privileged to have been chosen by the Sisters of Mercy to work in the Saint James Orphanage Nursery with the infants. She also fondly remembered serving breakfast for the Resident Priest/Chaplain and visiting priests who celebrated Daily Mass in the orphanage chapel. These experiences provided Mary with a good foundation for marriage and family life and all of the challenges in life she would face in the future.

Mary graduated from Omaha South High School in 1936 and received an emerald and pearl recognition pin for being the graduating senior who achieved the highest transcription speed in Gregg Shorthand. After graduation, she passed a U.S. Civil Service Examination and received a federal appointment as Secretary to the Project Engineer who supervised the completion of three NE irrigation projects (ie Tri-County, Hastings; Gerald A. Gentleman Plant, North Platte and, the Loup River Power and Irrigation Project in Columbus, NE) It was while she was employed in Columbus that she met and married Alvin Louis Cockson at Saint Bonaventure Catholic Church in Columbus, NE on August 28, 1939.

Mary was employed as a Secretary for the U.S. Federal Government in the following locations: Columbus, NE (Public Works Administration), Kearney, NE (Public Works Administration), Burlington, IA (Quaker Oats Army Ammunition Plant), Grand Island, NE (Cornhusker Army Ammunition Plant and the V.A. Hospital) and the V.A. Hospital in Lincoln from which she retired in 1984. Mary and her son David with whom she shared a home, moved from Lincoln to York, NE in 2000. She was an active member of the Altar Society, Legion of Mary and Perpetual Adoration Societies both in Lincoln and York and, while she lived in Lincoln she was also a Lady of the Eucharist at the Pink Sisters’ Chapel. Immediately after Mary retired from Government service she began volunteering at: The Lincoln Medical Education Foundation, Saint Elizabeth’s Regional Medical Center (Burn and Surgery Waiting Room Units) and Southeast Community College (Adult Education Department).

Mary was preceded in death by her parents, her sister Helen (Kinkenon), and her brothers William Jr. and John (Jack) Walsh as well as her spouse Alvin Louis, daughter Marcia Ann and grandson Ryan Cockson. She is survived by her children: Kathleen Bennett of Highlands Ranch, CO, Jeannine Opp of Lincoln, NE, Michael Cockson of Eden Prairie, MN and Phoenix, AZ. Daniel Cockson of Lincoln, (Deacon) David Cockson of York, Cheryl Crawford of Leesburg, VA and Mark Cockson of Fountain Hills, AZ. Mary is also survived by her brother Robert Walsh and sister Muriel (Lorraine) Petersen who both reside in CA. Some of Mary’s “special” survivors are many children that she had adopted both spiritually and financially from Saint Labre Indian School in Ashland, MT and children she sponsored from Children’s’ International in Kansas City, MO who reside in the Middle East and Central America. She is also survived by special friends/neighbors, Joseph and Sharon Schuller and friends/home companions Debbie Duty, Jessie Grant and Barbara Godejohn.

Special thanks to: Daughter-In-Law Nancy Cockson MD. The Reverend(s) Tasler and Chacko and the Acolytes, St Joseph’s Parish, York, NE and also professional staff from Aseracare Hospice, York, NE. Mary and her family want to pay special tribute to the staff at the York General Hospital and especially David Demuth MD, York Medical Clinic who always provided excellent, compassionate medical care that was patient centered and family focused.

The Recitation of the Rosary/Wake Service was held at 7:00 P.M. Friday, October 12, 2007 at the Metz Chapel in York. The Mass of Resurrection was celebrated at Saint Joseph’s Catholic Church at 10:00 A.M. Saturday, October 13, 2007 with the Reverend Father Mark Tasler as the Main Celebrant and the Reverend Father Chacko Mathai as the Co-Celebrant. Final Interment and Burial was held in the Westlawn Cemetery in Grand Island, NE at 2:00 P.M. Saturday. Memorials may be directed to the family for later designation.