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Event Date : Thursday, April 24, 1975
Event Type : Death

Description : Fred Cook, a man who for many years was a social and political influence in Bradford, died last Thursday in York County Hospital at 73. Mr. Cook was admitted to the hospital April 6 suffering from a heart attack. Funeral services were held in Trinity Anglican Church, Bradford, on Monday afternoon with the Rector, Rev. Jack House and Bishop Hunt, a lifelong friend of Mr. Cook, conducting the service. Hundreds of friends and associates gathered in the little church on Church St. that Fred Cook served so well. Mayor Joe Magani led a delegation of members of council and the town administrative staff. Many officials representing the various surrounding municipalities also attended the special funeral service.Reeve William Gibbins of Innisfil and Simcoe County Warden Edgar Currie and Reeve Orville Hughes of West Gwillimbury attended along with municipal, church and fraternal officials. Pallbearers included George Allison, Bradford Fire Chief Ted Gapp, Chief Constable John Dudgeon, Building Inspector Bert Magloughlen, Deputy Reeve Ken Wood and Ruston Folliott. Interment was in St. Paul's Cemetery, Coulson's Hill.During his 73 years, Fred Cook's life revolved around the town of his birth, Bradford.He was actively engaged in municipal politics and for more than 10 years served as the town's deputy reeve and representative on county council. In last year's election he decided to step down from the deputy reeve's chair. However, Mr. Cook did not leave the political scene and was successful in his bid to gain a council seat.Outside politics Fred Cook immersed himself in a number of community and social organizations. He was a lay reader in the Anglican Church from 1934 until his death and was involved in Christian education serving as Sunday School Superintendent for more than 45 years. In 1962 he received a citation from the Canadian Council of Churches' education department for his outstanding work. He was also a member of the Anglican Synod of the Diocese of Toronto. Mr. Cook was a member of the Simcoe Lodge #79 of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. At the time of his death he had achieved the 32nd Degree of the brotherhood. In his service to that organization, Mr. Cook served as district deputy grand master of the A.F. and A.M.'s district C". Mr. Cook also served at a grand master of the Orange Lodge for Ontario West and was a faithful member of Centennial Lodge LOL 209. Until 1957 Mr. Cook operated an insurance business in Bradford. Fred Cook is survived by his wife Leone, one sister Reta (Mrs. T. Gardner) of Bradford and one brother John of Windsor. Bradford Mayor Joe Magani commented on Mr. Cook's death saying: "It would take me hours to talk about Fred Cook. He will be very much missed on council. To me he was a real man and always a real gentleman on council. I served with him on council for 18 years and he was a great worker for the public and for the town. He did everything he could to satisfy the ratepayers at all times. He did a good job in finance. If ever I got stuck for words I could always turn to him for help."The mayor added: "He was a very beautiful man. It will take a long time to find another one like him."

Event Date : Thursday, August 17, 1978
Event Type : Death

Description : One of Bradford's most active and well known women, Dorothy "Dode" Marks died August 17 in York County Hospital in Newmarket. She was 68. Mrs. Marks was born in the home she lived in most of her life the daughter of Walter Reeves, a Bradford police officer for 20 years, and Sadie Saint. She was educated in Bradford attending both Bradford Public School and Bradford High School after which she worked for a short time in the Stein Furniture Factory which stood on the property now occupied by Toby's Restaurant. In 1930 she married Harvey Marks and spent the next few years raising three children Noreen (Hodgson), Beverley (Sanders), and Bill. She also had seven grandchildren and one great-grandson. An active woman Mrs. Marks was a member of the Women's Institute and also enjoyed bowling tennis badminton and baseball. She worked off and on for The Witness for 25 years often working well into the night organizing subscriptions. A tireless worker she was never heard to complain according to co-workers. Mrs. Marks was a member of the community centre board from its inception in 1956 until 1974 running for no wage the concession booth. According to former board member and co-worker Joe Magani, "Dode and Ted Dow ran that thing all year and the only compensation they got was a steak dinner once a year. For almost 20 years they kept that arena out of the red and that's a fact. Our expenses for running the arena were paid by the proceeds of that booth." A descendant of Bradford's pioneer families Mrs. Marks had a thorough knowledge of the history of the area and provided The Witness with many of the historical photos used in the Yesterdays column. Many of those same photos were used in the Bradford Centennial Book of 1957. Funeral service was held Saturday August 19 in the chapel Lathangue & Skwarchuk Funeral Home. Pallbearers were James Church, Jack Church, Gordon Church, Robert Watson, Kenneth Saint, and Bill Enwright. Burial took place at Mount Pleasant Cemetery.