I can’t remember when or where I first met Marguerite Cooke. It could have been at Boys and Girls Champs or at Sabina Park some time in the nineties. What I do remember is that she was a charming lady, kind, warm heated with a passion for sports especially cricket and that she had a deep love for KC.
Over the years I ran into Marguerite at many KC events, from Manning Cup football games at North Street to Boys and Girls Champs at the National Stadium to the Big KC Session in Miami, Florida. She always greeted me and all her friends with a broad smile and a hug. However, it was in the Port Authority’s box in the Air Jamaica Stand at Sabina Park that I really got to know her. Cricket aficionados knew that the Port Authority box was one of the exciting and cool places to be during a cricket game at Sabina Park and the dynamic Marguerite was the manager of that box. Whether you were a specially invited guest or merely the friend of an invited guest, once you arrived in the box Marguerite saw to it that you were comfortable, well fed and that you had a drink in your hands at all times.
As a member of the executive at Lucas Cricket Club she was there every weekend during the cricket season. It was well known in cricketing circles that she literally adopted many of the youngsters of that club, including players such as O’Neil Cruickshank (past KC player) and current WI player Chris Gayle.
It’s a toss up as to whether cricket or hockey was her first love. As a youngster she played on and captained the Jamaica Female Hockey Team and later she was President of the Jamaica Women’s Hockey Association. She obviously passed on her hockey skills and talent to her daughter Dr. Tasha Cooke who until quite recently was rated as the best female hockey player in Jamaica.
Marguerite’s support for KC was not something that she broadcasted far and wide and so many were unaware of the assistance, direct and indirect, that she offered the College over the years. One year at Boys and Girls Champs she was quite upset when she revealed that the Port Authority had received letters from several schools requesting sponsorship support to participate in the Penns Relays yet there was no letter from KC. Words quickly spread to KC’s Sports Master at the time who admitted that KC’s letter had not yet been sent. Those who were close to Marguerite instinctively knew that she would seek to ensure that the Port Authority dealt with KC’s request first, even though it would be among the last to arrive.
For many years the Port Authority Business House Football Team used Clovelly Park as its home field and in return the company assisted with the maintenance of the grounds. No doubt Marguerite had a lot to do with that arrangement. The Port Authority’s contribution to the Trust Fund could no doubt be traced to the persuasive arguments of Marguerite.
Earlier this year she hosted KC’s quiz team members at her home as they prepared for the competition. As a people person this was what Marguerite loved to do, she loved to have people around her and she was a wonderful hostess who loved to entertain. I was invited to her home many times to attend birthday parties and other functions she often hosted for her many friends.
Marguerite died in October 2006. Although she is gone I am sure that her memory will live on at Lucas Cricket Club and at the Port Authority where she worked for many years. Her many KC friends will also cherish her memory, for ever.
