Eleanor Barnett Cooley Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

Eleanor Barnett Cooley, 86, formerly of East Hartford, went to be with the Lord on Friday, May 27, 2022 at Douglas Manor, Windham, CT. She was the beloved wife of 63 years to Kenneth I Cooley, Sr. who passed away in 2016. Born on Dec. 5, 1935 in Lancaster, NH, she was the daughter of the late John and Celia (Boudle) Barnett of NH who had moved the family to CT in the 1940’s to follow a job at Pratt & Whitney. She always loved being with her family, it was truly her whole world. She enjoyed a good story, cherished her faith in God, and especially loved music, able to sing and play guitar herself at an early age. It gave her great joy that her own children and grandchildren inherited this love, and there was nothing more special to her than being serenaded by them, both with instruments and voices. She worked as a hairdresser, an elementary school librarian, volunteered as a Girl Scout leader, and provided childcare to family and neighbors alike for many years, and well in to her 70’s. Eleanor was honored by the Hartford Courant as Mother of the Year in 1991 for her dedication as a foster parent as well as all of the many reasons she was a wonderful mother and role model for others. Her foster children were always as her own children, and have long still played a vital role in her life sharing an enduring mutual love. Her family will always treasure memories of countless trips to the family farm and Santa’s Village in NH, June weeks in Cape Cod, many family picnics and celebrations, and of a mother who loved them all equally and unequivocally. Eleanor leaves behind her daughter Debra (Cooley) DeJohn, son Kenneth I. Cooley, Jr., and his wife Meg (Hansen), daughter Rebekah (Cooley) Arenas and husband Luis, daughter Laura (Chappel) Marcus and husband Harry, son Dalbert Ameil and s/o Esther, daughter Dawn Yombrick, 10 grandchildren (Lisa, Brian, Tracie, Laura, Bethany, Joshua, Ben, Gabriel, Elayna, Lilyana), 13 great-grandchildren, a great-great grandson, as well as numerous nieces, nephews and a dear cousin, Harriet Willson and her husband Dale, as well as many loving NH relatives and close friends. Besides her parents and her husband Kenneth, she was predeceased by her brother John Bruce Barnett, nephew David Barnett, and an infant grandson Daniel F. Cooley. A funeral service will be held on Friday, June 3, at 11:00am at the Rose Hill Funeral Home, 580 Elm St., Rocky Hill. Burial will follow in Rose Hill Memorial Park. Family and friends may call at the funeral home on Thursday, June 2, from 5:00-7:00pm. In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Attn: Memorial Giving, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105, or online at stjude.org/give/memorials

Eleanor Barnett Cooley

December 5, 1935 - May 27, 2022