Sylvia Mae (Parish) Cooley

Sylvia Mae (Parish) Cooley, 105, of Madison went to be with her Lord and Savior on Friday, May, 12, 2017 at the Bethel Lutheran Home, Madison.

Sylvia Mae Parish was born October, 2, 1911, at Fort Pierre, South Dakota, to Ivan and Rose (Larson) Parish. The family moved to Vilas in 1913, where she attended grade school, later graduating from Howard High School in 1930 and from Mankato Commercial College in 1933. Sylvia was united in marriage to Laurence Cooley at the Methodist Parsonage in Madison on September 1, 1934. To this union two daughters, Nancy and Patricia and one son Jerry were born. Sylvia worked for two Howard attorneys, Gordon Feldhaus and Lyle Sage. She was appointed acting postmaster for the Vilas post office for the years 1944-1945, when her husband was in the armed forces in France. They moved to Madison in 1957. For a short time, she did proof reading at the Madison Daily Leader. In 1962, she was appointed deputy Clerk of Courts and deputy magistrate for Lake County. Sylvia retired from this position in 1976. After retiring, she became a member of the Senior Citizens Art Class. At that time, she also attended an art and drawing class at Dakota State College; Joyce Domoracki and John Green were the instructors. She painted many pictures of various subjects, selling some but mostly giving them to family and friends. It was a hobby that she thoroughly enjoyed.

She was a member of the Rip-n-Ravel Extension club for twenty-five years and a member of the South Dakota Poetry Society for a number of years. Sylvia was a member of the Church of the Nazarene, where she was active in the art department, receiving the distinguished Merit Award in 1998.

Those grateful for having shared in her life include her two daughters, Nancy Jacobson of Howard, SD; Patricia (Maynard) Stock of Piedmont, SD; a son Jerry (Judy) of Brookings, SD; ten grandchildren, nineteen great grandchildren, seventeen great- great grandchildren,  two great-great-great granddaughters, two nieces and two nephews, other relatives and friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents, husband Laurence  (1996), three sisters, two brothers, son-in-law  Ronald Jacobson, a great grandson Ryan Cooley and many wonderful friends.

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