Celebrating Alan's life

Picture shows (l to r) Past District Governor Dennis Exley, Rotary GB&I President Ian Thompson and Alan after he was presented with a certificate to mark his 40 years in Rotary at the club charter 2008.

Barrow Rotary Club lost its oldest member with the death of Alan Cooksey PHF in early February at the age of 91.

Alan joined the Barrow club in 1968 and while he never took the position of president he was secretary on many occasions, leading to him being awarded a Paul Harris Fellowship in 2002. He also spent a number of years on the District Finance Committee.

When he joined Rotary in 1968 he was following in the footsteps of his grandfather William Henry Paul.

Alan and his wife Sylvia attended many District Conferences and even went to the International Convention in Munich when the launch of Polio Plus took place.  He was accompanied by Alan and Iris Birkby, Dennis and Gwen Exley and Bill and Irene Joughin, when they managed to extend a three night event into a three week touring holiday.

Alan and Sylvia loved to travel abroad, mainly France, but as the years passed they visited many places in the UK.

The Cooksey family lived in Yarlside Road when Alan was born and he attended Roose School and then in the mid 1930’s he moved on to Barrow Grammar School

During World War II Alan was in the RAF – in spite of saying he didn’t really like flying. He served in North Africa and Italy as a Leading Aircraftsman and would talk of sitting around for long spells in the heat waiting for the crates of aircraft parts to reach them so they could build them into aircraft.

His brother Paul was also in the RAF and based in the same area but they only managed to meet up once toward the end of their deployment.

When Alan returned to England he was stationed at Sealand, near Chester, where he met Sylvia who was a civilian working in the office. They were married for 65 years until Sylvia`s passing in 2014.

After the RAF, Alan joined in his grandfather’s family business – W H Paul, Slater and Plasterers, in Roose Road -with his brothers Paul and Brian, who pre-deceased him.

In later years he opened a camera shop in Dalton Road, and then moved to Cavendish Street until his retirement.

Alan was part of a small committee which founded Barrow Probus Club, was a keen member of Dalton Book Club and had a love of classical music – “none of today`s rubbish” he would say.

After Sylvia`s death, he sold his bungalow and moved into Abbeyfield in Dalton Road, which he initially helped to form in 2000.  He was there until his last long stay in hospital.

Alan is survived by his 95 year old sister Cynthia and her daughter Cathy who live in Australia.