Obituary of Dwight Cooke

Dwight Cooke Owls Head — Dwight Hinton Cooke, 84, died Jan. 28, 2013 at Maine Medical Center. Born in Concord, N.H. Jan. 15, 1929, he was the son of Rev. Edwin T. Cooke and Evangeline Inman Cooke. He grew up in New Hampshire where he attended local schools and then served in the United States Army Infantry as a sergeant in Korea. After his discharge from the Army, Dwight went back to school making use of the GI Bill. In 1951, he graduated from Vesper George School of Art in Boston in 1951 with a degree in illustration and married Eleanor (Judy) Bates. He studied pottery at the New Hampshire Arts and Crafts Studio in Concord, N.H. and was associate craftsman for John and Agnes Butler in Ossipee, N.H. where he made high temperature stoneware. He focused on oil painting at his studio in Marblehead, Mass. and moved to Rockport in 1964 where he opened a studio and gallery. Dwight was a skillful artist. His work is found in galleries and private collections throughout the United States and Canada. His paintings have been shown at the Farnsworth Art Museum, the University of Maine, Orono and galleries in Rockland, Rockport and Camden, Marblehead, Mass. and Washington D.C. Dwight enjoyed spending time outdoors. He liked long walks and found profound spirituality in nature — the sea, trees, plants, the weather — the beauty nature gives us. Predeceased by his daughter, Gina; he is survived by his partner, Jeanne Spearin Pipicello of Owls Head; a daughter, Audrey Lisa Shiloh-Cadieu of Alamos, Mexico; a granddaughter, Jessica R. Naylor of Hancock; a grandson, Sam Calderwood and his wife, Lacey of Franklin; a brother, Ronald Cooke and his wife Cynthia of Auburn, Calif.; great-grandsons, Nathan and William Calderwood, and several nieces and nephews. He was a devoted father and grandfather. His greatest joy was time spent with his grandchildren when they were little. Family members said Dwight lived life to its fullest and held firmly to the principle — “Live and let live”. He is at peace now, with a new canvas