Individual Details
Jon Anderson Cookston
(3 Sep 1936 - 1 Jan 2004)
Jon Cookston provided the following biography on January 16, 2003:
"JON ANDERSON COOKSTON
9/03/1936
Jon was born September 3, 1936, to Ocie Anderson "Jack" Cookston and Johnnie Gladys Driggs. He was first of twin boys. The next day Gladys died. Jon and his brother lived with their grandmother, Mary Jane Fox, for the next few months.
The next year on July 15, 1937, Jack married Annie Pearl Collins and she became the only mother the twins would know. Pearl accepted, with enthusiasm, the challenge of rearing twin boys and 10 year-old Barbara Ann who came into her life the same year. It was a challenge that some would not accept but Pearl did and did it well.
Jon and his twin enjoyed the benefits of being the only children in the Driggs' family. All the aunts and uncles gave them great attention. This special treatment ended in 1946 with the birth of another child in the Driggs' family. The twins took full advantage while it lasted.
In 1954, Jon graduated Garland High School and entered Lamar University. He graduated in 1958 with a BS in Industrial Engineering. On February 1, 1958, he married Leona Jean Briles, the daughter of Worthie Harwood Briles and Leona Hays Connally.
Jon was a Sales Engineer with Honeywell, Inc. for the next 13 years. He then operated his own manufactures rep organization. Jon and Jeanie's first child, Steven Anderson, was born July 17, 1960 in Dallas, Texas. Their second, Sherri Lynn, was born October 5, 1963 in Memphis, Tennessee. Steven died October 6, 2000 at his home in Selmer, Tennessee.
Jon and Jeanie now live in semi-retirement in Memphis. They enjoy Grandchildren, Jon's antique radios, 78 rpm records, musical instruments and mostly each other."
Jon's obituary from the Wednesday, January 7, 2004, issue of "The Fayette Falcon" follows:
"Mr. Jon Anderson Cookston, a resident of Memphis, former resident of Somerville, who was an engineer and business owner through much of his life, died at 7:20 p.m. on Thursday, January 1, 2004, at the Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis where he had been a patient since December 9th. He was 67 years of age and died following a brief illness.
Funeral services were conducted at 3:00 p.m. Saturday, January 3rd, at the Peebles Funeral Chapel in Somerville with Rev. Kenneth Culver, Pastor of the Warren Community Church of Somerville, officiating. He was assisted by Dr. David P. Comperry, pastor of the Bartlett United Methodist Church. Interment was in the Somerville City Cemetery.
Mr. Cookston was born September 3, 1936, in Dallas Texas, the son of the late Jack Anderson Cookston and the late Gladys Driggs Cookston. He was educated in the public school system of Dallas, Texas, and continued his education at the Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas. Mr. Cookston was married February 1, 1958, to the former Jeanie Briles, a native of Fort Worth, Texas, and a retired interior home decorator, who survives.
Mr. Cookston was a former resident of Somerville where he and his family owned and operated Town & County Appliance and Hardware Company. He was an engineer throughout much of his life and established Air Components, Inc. after moving to Memphis in 1983. Mr Cooskton continued to be active in his business until his recent illness. He was of the Baptist Faith.
A person of many interests with a keen intellect, Mr. Cookston had a variety of hobbies and activities that included buying, restoring, and selling antiques. He enjoyed repairing and restoring antique vehicles, antique radios, victorlas, and antique pianos. He enjoyed fishing when time permitted and was well known in the area for his ever present Texas hats that he enjoyed wearing for all occasions.
In addition to his wife, Mr Cookston is survived by his daugher Sherri Morris and her husband Michael of Sommerville; his sister, Barbara Hayes of Sherman, Texas; and two grandchildren, Madison Morris and Scott Morris, both of Somerville. Mr. Cookston was preceded in death by his son, Steven Anderson Cookston, October 6, 2000, and a brother, Don Anderson Cookston.
Casketbearers were Harold Feathers, Rodney Jenkins, Ron Martin, David Miller, David Pulliam, and David Shelton Robertson."
"JON ANDERSON COOKSTON
9/03/1936
Jon was born September 3, 1936, to Ocie Anderson "Jack" Cookston and Johnnie Gladys Driggs. He was first of twin boys. The next day Gladys died. Jon and his brother lived with their grandmother, Mary Jane Fox, for the next few months.
The next year on July 15, 1937, Jack married Annie Pearl Collins and she became the only mother the twins would know. Pearl accepted, with enthusiasm, the challenge of rearing twin boys and 10 year-old Barbara Ann who came into her life the same year. It was a challenge that some would not accept but Pearl did and did it well.
Jon and his twin enjoyed the benefits of being the only children in the Driggs' family. All the aunts and uncles gave them great attention. This special treatment ended in 1946 with the birth of another child in the Driggs' family. The twins took full advantage while it lasted.
In 1954, Jon graduated Garland High School and entered Lamar University. He graduated in 1958 with a BS in Industrial Engineering. On February 1, 1958, he married Leona Jean Briles, the daughter of Worthie Harwood Briles and Leona Hays Connally.
Jon was a Sales Engineer with Honeywell, Inc. for the next 13 years. He then operated his own manufactures rep organization. Jon and Jeanie's first child, Steven Anderson, was born July 17, 1960 in Dallas, Texas. Their second, Sherri Lynn, was born October 5, 1963 in Memphis, Tennessee. Steven died October 6, 2000 at his home in Selmer, Tennessee.
Jon and Jeanie now live in semi-retirement in Memphis. They enjoy Grandchildren, Jon's antique radios, 78 rpm records, musical instruments and mostly each other."
Jon's obituary from the Wednesday, January 7, 2004, issue of "The Fayette Falcon" follows:
"Mr. Jon Anderson Cookston, a resident of Memphis, former resident of Somerville, who was an engineer and business owner through much of his life, died at 7:20 p.m. on Thursday, January 1, 2004, at the Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis where he had been a patient since December 9th. He was 67 years of age and died following a brief illness.
Funeral services were conducted at 3:00 p.m. Saturday, January 3rd, at the Peebles Funeral Chapel in Somerville with Rev. Kenneth Culver, Pastor of the Warren Community Church of Somerville, officiating. He was assisted by Dr. David P. Comperry, pastor of the Bartlett United Methodist Church. Interment was in the Somerville City Cemetery.
Mr. Cookston was born September 3, 1936, in Dallas Texas, the son of the late Jack Anderson Cookston and the late Gladys Driggs Cookston. He was educated in the public school system of Dallas, Texas, and continued his education at the Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas. Mr. Cookston was married February 1, 1958, to the former Jeanie Briles, a native of Fort Worth, Texas, and a retired interior home decorator, who survives.
Mr. Cookston was a former resident of Somerville where he and his family owned and operated Town & County Appliance and Hardware Company. He was an engineer throughout much of his life and established Air Components, Inc. after moving to Memphis in 1983. Mr Cooskton continued to be active in his business until his recent illness. He was of the Baptist Faith.
A person of many interests with a keen intellect, Mr. Cookston had a variety of hobbies and activities that included buying, restoring, and selling antiques. He enjoyed repairing and restoring antique vehicles, antique radios, victorlas, and antique pianos. He enjoyed fishing when time permitted and was well known in the area for his ever present Texas hats that he enjoyed wearing for all occasions.
In addition to his wife, Mr Cookston is survived by his daugher Sherri Morris and her husband Michael of Sommerville; his sister, Barbara Hayes of Sherman, Texas; and two grandchildren, Madison Morris and Scott Morris, both of Somerville. Mr. Cookston was preceded in death by his son, Steven Anderson Cookston, October 6, 2000, and a brother, Don Anderson Cookston.
Casketbearers were Harold Feathers, Rodney Jenkins, Ron Martin, David Miller, David Pulliam, and David Shelton Robertson."
Events
| Birth | 3 Sep 1936 | Dallas, Harris County, Texas |  | ||
| Marriage | 1 Feb 1958 | Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas - Leona Jean "Jeanie" Briles | | ||
| Death | 1 Jan 2004 | Complications of adult onset diabetes - Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee | | ||
| Burial | 3 Jan 2004 | Sommerville City Cemetery, Somerville, Fayette, Tennessee, United States |
Families
| Spouse | Leona Jean "Jeanie" Briles (1935 - 2020) |
| Child | Steven Anderson Cookston (1960 - 2000) |
| Child | Sherri Lynn Cookston (1963 - ) |
Endnotes
1. Information provided by Jon Anderson Cookston on May 26, 2002.
2. Information provided by Jon Anderson Cookston on May 26, 2002.
3. Jon Cookston's Obituary in Jan. 7, 2004 issue of The Fayette Falcon.