Eighth Generation

10621. Bertha Reeves Coffey was born on 24 September 1899 in North Carolina. She lived with her parents. in Blue Ridge Twp., Watauga Co., NC on 17 April 1930.

The child Obed was missing from this census. Bertha died on 3 April 1992 at the age of 92 in Avery Co., NC.³¹²⁵²

Bertha Reeves Coffey and Howard MacDonald Day were married on 23 December 1917 in Watauga Co., NC.^20402,31253 They^{^20402,31253} appeared in the census in 1920 in Sheridan Co., NE.³¹²⁵⁴

Family historyconcludes that Howard was shot and killed following a dispute with a neighbor. The body and family was accompanied back to Watauga Co. by Alvah, one of Howard's brothers.

Bertha was expecting at the time, and soon gave birth to Howard McDonald Day, Jr. She found herself unable to care for the family alone, and by 1927 all of the children were in the care of the Baptist Children's Home in Thomasville, NC, then known as the Mills Home. The children remained there and finished school, later attending college.

In 1930 the three children were housed at the Thomasville Baptist Orphanage in Davidson Co., NC. They can be found on page 6A in ED28. Obed was 11, Dorothy was 8 and, Howard was 6 years old. Howard MacDonald Day, son of Thomas Larkin Day and Mary Elizabeth Harrison, was born on 5 March 1897 in Watauga Co., NC. Howard died on 7 August 1922 at the age of 25 in Wyoming and was buried at Day Cemetery in Day's Gap, Watauga Co., NC.

Family tradition says that Howard was shot to death

Bertha Reeves Coffey and Howard MacDonald Day had the following children:

+17492	i.	Obed Owen Day.
17493	ii.	Dorothy Faye Day was born circa 1922 in Wyoming. The 1930 census gives her place of birth as North Carolina.
17494	iii.	Howard MacDonald Day Jr. was born on 17 January 1923.³¹²⁵⁵

Bertha Reeves Coffey and Charles Lee "Charlie" Cook were married on 5 November 1933 in Blue Ridge Twp., Watauga Co., NC.³¹²⁵⁶ Charles Lee "Charlie" Cook was born (date unknown).

Bertha Reeves Coffey and Charles Lee "Charlie" Cook had the following children:

17495

Kenneth L. Cook was born on 1 January 1934 in Carter Co., TN. He died on 25 January 2007 at the age of 73 at Glenbridge Health Care in Boone, Watauga Co., NC and was buried at Mount Vernon Baptist Church Cemetery in Boone, Watauga Co., NC on 27 January 2007.

Obituary, Watauga Democrat, Jan. 30, 2007

Kenneth L. Cook

Mr. Kenneth L. Cook, 73, of 211 Milton Brown Heirs Road, Boone, died Thursday afternoon, Jan. 25, 2007, at Glenbridge Health Care.

He was born Jan. 1, 1934 in Carter County, Tenn., a son of the late Charlie Lee Cook and Bertha Coffey Day.

Mr. Cook was a retired truck driver for Mason-Dixon Motor Lines in Kingsport, Tenn.

Survivors include two daughters, Anita Donnelly and husband, Larry, of Zionville, and Donna Hampton and husband, Rick, of Wytheville, Va.; two sons, Tony Cook and wife, Pat, of Wilkesboro and Charles Cook and wife, Anita, of Boone; three granddaughters, Melody Roden and husband, Michael, of Boone, Heather Donnelly of Zionville, and Leah Hampton of Wytheville, Va.; six grandsons, Jason Cook of Deep Gap, Anthony Cook of Boone, Nathan Cook of Deep Gap, Ryan Hampton and Joshua Hampton, both of Wytheville, Va., and Justin Donnelly of Zionville; one great-grandson, Zachary Cook of Hudson; one sister, Mrs. Edna Greene of Hudson; three brothers, Obed Day of Winston-Salem, Haden Cook and wife, Pat, and Hugh Cook and wife, Cleo, all of Boone. He is also survived by a number of nieces and nephews.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by five sisters, Ola Critcher, Clara Miller, Flo Cook, Hazel Hampton, and Dorothy Day Koenig; and three brothers, George Cook, Worth Cook, and Howard Day.

Graveside services and burial were conducted Saturday morning, Jan. 27, 2007, at Mount Vernon Baptist Church Cemetery. Officiating was the Rev. Ricky Critcher.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, 31 College Place, Asheville, N.C. 28801-2644, or to the Paralyzed Veterans of America, 7 Mill Brook Road, Wilton, New Hampshire 03086.

Hampton Funeral Service was in charge of the arrangements.