Town of Scarborough

In Memory
of
Blanche M. Cook
Scarborough’s oldest resident at 107 and longtime holder of the Boston Post Cane, died on
June 7, 2009. Blanche was born on October 13, 1901, in Nashua, New Hampshire. She was
the daughter of Joseph & Lillian (Blackstone) Small. The oldest of five children.
Mrs. Cook grew up in the Pownal, Maine area until the age of 16. She then moved to Portland.
There she lived with an Aunt and worked as a waitress at the Willows Hotel in Prouts Neck
of Scarborough. She also worked at Haven’s Candy Kitchen in Portland where she learned to
dip chocolate.
She married John Cook (of South Portland) on January 18, 1928, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
They had one daughter, Lorraine. The family lived in South Portland until 1947 when
they move to their new home on Westwood Avenue in Scarborough. Once their daughter
was older Mrs. Cook went to work for Len Libby’s and later on at Libby’s Candies, both of
Scarborough, again dipping chocolate. After that she worked in food service at Scarborough’s
Schools, first at the High School and later at the Junior High.
She was a member of the First Congregation Church in Scarborough. Her hobbies included
taking bus trips, traveling, spending time with the many friends she made at various senior
groups, and candlepin bowling, where at the age of 93 her average was also 93. Blanche
particularly liked spending time winters in Florida with her younger brother J. Bernard
Small until his death in 2007. She was an avid Red Sox baseball fan and tried not to miss a
game. Blanche was overjoyed when the Red Sox won the World Series in 2004, as she had
been waiting since 1918 for a repeat. She was a life member of the Order of Eastern Star and
belonged to the Nonesuch Senior Citizens.