Brent H S Cooke:
CLASS OF 1974
Nelson McIntyre CollegiateClass of 1974
Winnipeg, MB
Red River Community CollegeClass of 1989
Winnipeg, MB
Queen Elizabeth SchoolClass of 1970
Winnipeg, MB
King George V SchoolClass of 1967
Winnipeg, MB
Brent H S's Story
Cooke Life
Last Updated: 20-May-2024 (updates here and there)
I tried to figure out how to proceed without getting overly wordy - so elected to give you a summarized format. It's much easier to add on to and hopefully won't leave you bored. So look for the most recent at the bottom. If you have questions, then send an email. brenthcooke “at” gmail “dot” com.
1970-74:
My life was complete!!!! Sylvie, Friends, High School, lots of fun, Sylvie, my dad's "Batmobile", the RedTop, Sylvie, lots of Friends and of course - Sylvie.
Circa 1974:
Well, we all (most of us) graduated and had to find jobs or get back to school.
1976:
Brent and Sylvie (Malo) got married.
1980:
Sylvie graduates RRCC and moves into the IT industry, while Brent enjoys "non-techie" stuff.
1982:
Big Decision - Enjoy "DINK Life" or have Children.
1983:
We have our 1st child (a girl) Aislinn Sheila Anne. Sylvie found the name and we volunteered two grandmothers for the middle names.
1984:
We have our 2nd child (a boy) Brydon Jonathan Gilbert. Brent found the name and we volunteered two grandfathers for the middle names.
1985-1994:
Need you ask with two children under 10? Well, actually - Brent goes back to college and gets his IT degree three years later. So now both parents are in IT.
1988:
Brent moves into IT at Boeing in Winnipeg over in St. James. He Begins as a developer, then moves into Database Administration. He actually likes it!! Go figure - could you ever imagine?
1995:
We accept an offer to move to Richmond, Virginia - to work with Ross Perot at EDS (Electronic Data Systems). Brent is contracted to be site DBA at ICI Corporation. After 5 years - we get our green-card. The kids are really being challenged in school. Aislinn hates dad for 2-years because she misses her friends. The summers are hot-hot-hot and the winters are ... hmm - where's the snow? NOT HERE (YEA!!!).
2000:
Brent accepts an offer from DuPont and moves from DBA to into coordinating IT resources for the DuPont Teijin Global SAP implementation. Unfortunately, the same year - Brent also finds he has 3 partial artery blockages in his heart and has to have stents implanted to keep his blood flowing. After a 3 month recovery and a change in diet - Brent is back to work and enjoying DuPont.
2001-2004:
The kids go to college. Both are out-of-town and enjoying the colleges they've picked out. We'll see how things go - wow, college is expensive in the States. Aislinn wants to graduate with a degree in Criminal Justice and Brydon is anticipating Seminary afterward. Brent and Sylvie are enjoying being alone again :-)
2004:
We're sorry we weren't able to get to the reunion in 2004 (read on you'll see) - we'll try to make the next one though. There was another setback for Brent. He suffers a heart attack at work the morning after a normal 3 mile run. All vital signs appear normal (doctor says likely due to Brent's fit condition). However, this time another partial blockage (likely a clot that developed due to a dislodge). But He gets another few stents implanted in his heart. Good thing to date - no open heart surgery has ever been needed (abundant thanks to God). All this was done so far without a single cut.
2005:
Brent and Sylvie continue to enjoy the South. It's fun, it's homey, there's little snow and winters are warm. BTW - We like visitors. Aislinn will graduate this year - Brydon still one more to go. Things are good this year. We vacationed in Calgary - where Sylvie's brother Paul is CFO of Canada Safeway.
2006:
This year is starting off v-good. Will be in Wpg, this May for a wedding - call Wpg 668-1728. The kids will be at home. We're also applying for US citizenship this year. Brent continues to do short 8K runs - averaging 50-55 mins (hey as long as I'm finishing them - right?).
2007:
OK - another good year. Aislinn is now living in Newport News, VA - close to the Ocean. She's very happy there. A 2 hour drive from Mom and Dad so it's far enuf that we don't stop in out of the blue. Brydon is living locally in an area called "The Fan" in Richmond. Sort of like the Osborne Village area of Wpg. He likes walking everywhere - so it's a good spot for him. Neither are married yet. Syl and Brent enjoyed another year mostly hanging around Virginia. We did make it to Scotland again for business, and then Paris for vacation. Brent got to hear Syl talk French again (very sexy!!!). We didn't go for US Citizenship - will try in 2008.
2008:
The winter was so mild - another year of no-snow. We will be in Scotland again this year. Hosting a family from CDA in Aug. We have a wedding in Sept in Calgary. Brent is still with DuPont. Syl is managing insurance for a local Dental Group. Feel free to email at brenthcooke (at-gmail-dot-com), this way we can work it outside the classmates system. We got our US Citizenship in October, but too late to vote in the Presidential elections.
2009:
This summary is getting very long :-(. Syl and I are thinking a 3 bedroom condo. I'm getting tired of yard work, and we'd both like to just take-off whenever we'd like to. We'll see what comes of it. Life continues and health all around is good for both of us. It's the 9-11 anniversary today, keep peace in your prayers everyone.
2010:
Wow, let's see what we can in this year so far ... I missed a great reunion at Bob Cruden's place this year. I got to see a pic of Bob, Bruce Haywood, Emile and Phil Laverdiere. It was the hottest year in VA in 60 years - too many days over 100F - grass died. We made it back to Calgary for a family wedding in July (it was great to be able to sleep with the windows open and smell the fresh dry Canadian air). No condo - instead Sylvie and I have decided to renovate. So far the kitchen went great and now into the living room. Our goal is to get the whole house completed before our son Brydon gets married in Sep2011. He has moved to Colorado, and enjoying it. Get this he âmet his wife LaRissa in Richmond and sheâsis om from JameJstown ND (so they certainly have winter stories to share). I helped him move, and the landscape there is really remarkable. Being 1 mile above sea level tho has an impact on you until you get used to it. I did get to hike the Rockies again this year with Brydon - LaRissa came as well. I'm thinking sometime in the next 5 years to try a hike up to Machu Picchu (that would be a dream come true) have to start saving. Syl and I are doing great - as always we miss Wpg, friends and family. It's now our 2 year anniversary of getting our US citizenship. Xmas was fun in VA. We got snow 3 1/2"...and then it went away, but it was vnice to have. Newport News got 9" and the city closed down on Boxing Day (oooppps - for Americans - that's the day after Xmas).
2011:
This year was event-filled. We continued with the house reno (didn't really complete it - but did everything that counted). We finished the living room, dining room and the main floor bath. We redid the Florida room, so the main floor is done - yay!!! Then it hit .... our main shower tub in the ensuite started to leak and the kitchen ceiling started to stain. Not enough time to pull it out and replace it before Brydon's wedding so we fiber-glassed the shower - and it worked!!!! We'll redo the ensuite in 2012. So the wedding was fabulous!!! The house was filled with family and friends - lots of wine and beer digested over a 2 week period. It was wonderful having everyone in and grilling out on the deck every night. The wedding was perfect. Bry and LaRissa are an ideal match - they complement each otherâs personality just right. After the wedding they went back to Colorado. Oh and Aislinn moved to Los Angelas CA in May. She is working for a software company there (Blizzard - the World of WarCraft folks). After 2 weeks, her quote was "This is the most fabul...Expand for more
ously awesome place to work". Ais's fiancé also works there (looks like IT is in the family genes). Bry is doing very well with the City of Longmont - working with kids is certainly his gift. Sylvie had a 3 vertebra neck fusion this autumn. We found she had bone spurs in the spinal column shaft that needed to be ground off and they put a 40mm plate in to keep things in place. Her migraines have greatly reduced and also the tingling in her arms. We have the holidays coming up - Syl and I are deciding what to do since the kids are on the other side of the country. We have a wedding in Winnipeg next year.
2012:
Wow - where to start. Sylvie's recovery has gone excellent - she has fairly good movement in her neck and she's now working on getting those neck muscles to relax (her physical therapists are really good). I've cut back playing music to a great degree (monthly now), but keeps my creative juices flowing and my fingers limber. Our Curling Club (CC of Va) is in it's 2nd year. I've accepted the president's nomination (2 year term). I hope I can get the high school kids involved - like we used to at NMC (fun times). Iâll attend a curling bonspiel in Laurel MD at Potomac CC in Jan. Syl and I were in Orlando for a tech conference in May. Home for 5 days and off to Colorado to see Bry and Riss. We did make it back to Wpg in late June and early July for the wedding. Time was so tight - we apologize to those we didn't get to connect with. We really didn't do much with 2012 house renovation (left over from 2011), but hopefully next year. Brydon was offered a job with Google in San Francisco and he accepted. Riss will stay in CO for a while and they will work out the details. Aislinn and Devin are still enjoying things at Blizzard in Irvine CA. Amazing when you grow up in Wpg you really don't expect life to change that much .... but Ais finds it fascinating that whenever she wants to (later in the evening) she can pour a glass of wine and sit out on her balcony and watch the fireworks at Disney Land CA (who wudda thunk't it). Christmas is all over the map this year. Syl and I are hanging in VA and we'll do hand-holding things like walking through Colonial Williamsburg, look at the Virgina Beach Boardwalk Xmas Lights, go to the various botanical gardens locally and enjoy the outdoors. Bry will fly to LA to spend xmas with his sister, and Riss will head off to Phoenix to spend time with her dad. BUT - we have agreed on a Skype Xmas call so we can watch each other empty Christmas stockings. That will be fun. Next year ... hmmm - who knows. To all our friends and family â a Merry Christmas from our house to yours, and a blessed, prosperous and very safe New Year.
2013:
Another very active year. We vacationed in Gilbert AZ with good friends, Outer Banks SC, Virginia Beach VA, Vegas we had a conference and then travelled to see our daughter in Irvine CA. After all that we spent another 2 trips in the Phoenix area and purchased a condo. Whew .... The kids came to Mesa to help with the condo setup and furnishing and we spent Christmas there. This will be the "retirement" State we believe. The climate is good for Sylvie and it's very easy to get around. We have friends that vacation there in the winter so we will see familiar faces after we relocate .... just now to figure out when (3years??). The kids continue to enjoy California. Aislinn and her fiancé Devin are still in the LA area. Brydon is still at Google and his wife LaRissa is now in San Fran as well at a Chiro's Office there. Virginia is a little lonelier without the kids - but our friends are plenty.
2014:
Ok we're half way thru the year; let's see....everyone is still where they were last year. I've completed my tenure as president of the Curling Club of VA (yep we are curling down here). We made it to the USCA arena Curling Nationals in Ft Wayne IN last year and in Lansing MI this year. We did well but didn't get to finals either year. I should be curling in seniors, but I'm enjoying the intense competition in the general league. Oh â and we curl over the summer down here too. House is almost complete. Only the ensuite left. Syl had a bad spring with horrible VA pollen and mold. Spending time at the condo turned that around for her. We are going to love it there. We put our name in to reserve a new auto (look up Elio Motors). Our Curling Club did a âWinnipegâ thing in early September. We hosted an âAll-Nightâ Bonspiel ï it was awesome. We had teams in from Pittsburg, Greensville SC, and Maryland. 13 Teams registered and played 8Pm Sat to 12:30PM Sun. Look for pics on curlingva.org. I have an eastern regional spiel Dec2014 in Connecticut, then after that it will be out to the condo for Xmas.
2015:
Have to come back and add in.
2016:
Well let's see what we can say about 2016. Have to come back to this too.
2017:
This year will be retirement year. Sylvie and I have been planning long enough. Things are falling into place and it looks like we will finally get to Arizona. The house will be listed in VA in March and hopefully we will see good interest in it and it will sell quickly. We've doe a lot of renovations inside and out and expecting that effort will pay off. More to come ...... Ok so we are now fully retired as of March 6th "YAY" :-). House prep, pack, sell and move time - fun, exciting, ick - work.
2018-2021:
Hmmmm……We sold the VA house and moved to the Mesa condo. Actually loving the weather even the summers. We found out we were going to be grandparents (2019) so sold the condo and purchased a house for a backyard. We are in a 55+ community and loving it. Golf course, restaurant, bar, auditorium for concerts and movies, woodshop, metal shop, billiard lounge, art room, library, gym, pools, hot tubs, tennis and pickle ball - gosh just way cool. Good friends and fun times. We are really enjoying this.
Having grandchildren is Sooooooo much fun !!!!!! Can’t you just skip children and go direct? That would/could be fun.
2022:
We made it back to Wpg in June’22 for Bob Cruden’s memorial service Jul1,2022. He passed on Jan 22 from complications associated with Covid. The service was wonderful. Had a chance to play with the old band circa: 1972 and others; playing Bobs favourite songs. Emile & Phil Laverdiere (and me - original members), Ted Duthoit (drums - been 45 years), Bruce Haywood (rhythm guitar), and Karyn Cruden (Bobs daughter) took our vocals. She’s an awesome gal. Bob has been my CDN bestie and we called each other every birthday - I’ll miss him a lot. We spent US Thanksgiving at home in Mesa and will spend Xmas in Colorado with our kids and grandkids. AZ and the desert is very lovely; the desert landscape can be gorgeous It’s different without winters period, summers can be 45f.
2023:
We had a super Xmas in CO. 3 weeks of nonstop activity with a 1 and 3 1/2 year old. It snowed, so we got to see a white Xmas, drive and walk around in it. Back in AZ to continue house renovations and spring visitors. Covid sure has been something. Just like the rest of the world, there at those who believe it and those that deny it. Syl and I have been double vaxed and triple boosted now. We hung out at home a lot and masked up when grocery shopping. I’m guessing we will just slide into a flu + Covid vaccine every year now. Syl has found a fabulous practitioner who is helping her with her fibro and fragrance sensitivities. The term “ neuroplasticity” is the key - look it up - cool stuff!!!! For myself, I had severe “planter fasciitis” I couldn’t walk without holding on to something after getting up from a chair or bed. My solution “PRP” - no surgery and 6 weeks later no trace of issues. PRP is Platelet Rich Plasma. Wow …. Medical progress is awesome.
More will come.
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