Phyllis “Julie Patrice” Cook (1940-2026)

Returned to God on February 16, 2026.

Born in 1940, Sister Phyllis Cook, SNDdeN was the daughter of William and Patricia Cook.

While inspired by St. Julie Billiart’s simplicity and loving spirit, Sister Phyllis at first wasn’t attracted to religious life. “I’m not the type!” she exclaimed to people who thought she might be “Sister material.” But when Phyllis started looking more closely at the Sisters who taught at the College of Notre Dame, where she was a student, it seemed there was no real “type.” They were young and old, all with different personalities. During a Holy Thursday service in her sophomore year, she knew she was called to enter.

After graduating from Bishop O’Dowd High School in Oakland, she entered the SNDdeN in 1960, took her First Vows in 1963, and her Final Vows in 1968.

She attended the College of Notre Dame, Belmont. A talented teacher, Sister Phyllis began teaching fourth grade at St. Lucy Elementary School in Campbell, California. Later, while teaching sixth- and seventh-graders at St. Francis of Assisi School in Seahurst, Washington, she also had the joy of discussing Vatican II teachings with adults. Three years at Holy Family School in Honolulu, Hawaii, broadened her world to a new culture and climate! She then returned to the mainland and taught for 7 years at St. Joseph Notre Dame High School in her hometown of Alameda, California.

When Sister Phyllis responded to a call to serve in Kenya for two years, she became part of the teaching team for the Egoji Teacher Training College in Eastern Kenya. This experience meant revising teaching methods (forget about handouts!), learning Kiswahili, and seeing extreme poverty firsthand.

When she returned to the United States, Sister Phyllis initiated the successful Writing to Read program at Nativity School in the inner-city section of Los Angeles. A few years later, she became principal at St. Columbkille School in Los Angeles, a job she cherished for 11 years. During her time in Los Angeles, she experienced the unrest in the aftermath of the Rodney King verdict. She credited the many years of faithful service of the Sisters in the area for their being able to be effective in the midst of the turmoil.

In 2007, Sister Phyllis was invited by Notre Dame Sister Masheti Wangoyi in Kenya to work with postulants and Sisters in initial commitment. According to Sister Phyllis, the job called for “lots of listening, learning, celebrating and exercising patience with myself and others!” She added that, “Today those Postulants hold responsible positions in the Kenya Unit and are forming more young Kenyan women to become Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur.” Energized by living among those made poor and working with young Kenyan Sisters, she said, “I am grateful that I was called to become a member of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, an international family. That call is ongoing with ever-new horizons.”

Returning to California in 2024 due to health concerns, she moved to Mercy Care and Retirement Center in Oakland, where, with a “heart as wide as the world,” she continued her warm and generous outreach to others.

She found deep meaning in her religious vocation. “Truly God is good all the time,” she said. “My early fascination with St. Julie has grown into a strong love and ever-growing appreciation of her wisdom and her experience of the good God. I am grateful that I was called to become a Sister of Notre Dame de Namur, a member of an international family. That call is ongoing with ever-new horizons.”

Updated in 2026.