Maria Oliva Cook

Dearly loved mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, Maria Oliva Venegas von Schmeling Cook, age 93, of Gulfport, passed away peacefully at the Seashore Highlands Home the evening of February 15, 2021. The daughter of Adolfo von Schmeling and Oliva Venegas Lopez, Maria was born in Chiapas, Mexico, spending her childhood in Mexico until she moved to Gulfport in 1956 with her husband, Thomas Hunter Cook. She met her husband Tom while she was working in a photography shop in Branson, Missouri. They married in 1950 during a break in Tom’s U.S. Army service in the Korean War. Their union was blessed with eight children: six daughters and two sons. After her children were grown, Maria cared for the children of family friends and served as a kindergarten Sunday School teacher for many years at the First Presbyterian Church of Gulfport, where she was an active member of the Women of the Church. An avid gardener all her life, Maria was a member of the Gulfport Women’s Club and the Gulfport Garden Club, where she won awards for her floral arrangements. Her love of plants, especially the beautiful live oaks along the coast, inspired Maria and her husband to become active supporters in the Save Jones Park civic project. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband Thomas H. Cook in 2017, her first born son Mark Gregory Cook in 1956, and her two brothers Gustavo von Schmeling and Enrique von Schmeling, both from Mexico. She is survived by her children, daughters Rosana Maria (Tim) Tyson, Amelia Oliva (Dolly) (Miguel) Martin, Diana Maria (Danesh) Foroughi, Maria Aurora (James) Mock, Mary Alice (Jose Manuel) Martin, Lucia Linda (Roddy) Russell, and son Thomas Anthony Cook, 25 grandchildren, and 26 great grandchildren. A family memorial service officiated by the First Presbyterian Church was held at the Floral Hills Memorial Gardens in Gulfport, MS at 1:00pm on Sunday, February 21, 2021. The family extends its gratitude and appreciation to Seashore Highlands and for the Kare in Home Hospice service for their kind and compassionate care of their beloved mother and grandmother. In lieu of flowers, the family is suggesting that donations in Maria’s name may be made to any of the below: -Children’s Ministry at First Presbyterian Church, 10885 O’Neal Rd, Gulfport 39503 -Sunday Fund, Methodist Senior Services, Seashore Highlands, 12170 Highland Way, Gulfport, MS 39503 -The Jones Park Memorial program, Gulfport Civic League, P.O. Box 7797, Gulfport, MS 39506 -Palmer Home for Children at palmerhome.org Bradford-O'Keefe Funeral Home, 15th Street in Gulfport, is honored to serve the Cook family.