Centenarian: Thama Cook

When Thama Cook graduated high school in the tiny town of Pennington, Texas, she became the first in her family to attend college and later earn a master’s degree. 

It was likely the first master’s degree in the town, as Pennington had fewer than 200 people, and most were Thama’s relatives, according to her son David. (David is speaking on his mother’s behalf because she has severe dementia.)

Thama attended Baylor University for her undergraduate degree and then Iowa State University, where she met her husband, who worked as a waiter in the women’s dormitory. After Thama graduated, the couple moved to Highwood, Illinois, where Thama began a career as head dietitian at Highland Park Hospital.

“She had to figure out how to schedule, plan, and make meals for several hundred people every day,” David says. Even though nutrition and diet weren’t the recovery priorities they are today, Thama still had a big job — and the experience helped teach her about clean living and eating, which David says contributed to her longevity. Her genes did too; all three of her siblings lived into their 90s.

When Thama became pregnant with David, she decided to stay home. She had a daughter two years later, and when her youngest entered second grade, Thama returned to work, taking a job teaching home economics in a Highland Park middle school. She stayed there until retirement but continued working, switching to Allstate, where she organized manuals and documents as a technical librarian.

Thama never slowed down, even in retirement. She took up square dancing, tried all types of art (everything from weaving to painting), and traveled with David’s mother-in-law.

“She wasn’t too concerned with a lot of scheduling and all that kind of stuff,” David says. Once, while on a cruise, Thama and David’s mother-in-law almost missed the boat at a port — and it was Thama’s fault. “It was a big deal for [my mother-in-law]. It almost broke up the relationship to a degree. [My mother-in-law] is very proper and by the book, an engineer, and Mom is definitely not. She’s more of an artsy person.”

David muses that living without those cares and worries may have helped Thama live longer. He also credits his mother for his adventurous, inquisitive spirit and love for education. Thama wore her Baylor ring for years, he says, and her pride encouraged him to further his education.

Today, although dementia raises challenges for Thama, she often remembers her family — to the point that she calls her nurse, Daisy, by her sister’s name: Mimi.

Above photo by Jim Vondruska

Originally published in the Summer/Fall 2025 print issue.