Gertrude Sarah Ann Brown, second child and first daughter of Joseph V. and Nancy (Bullard) Brown was born on March 12, 1905 at Blue Ridge community, Hamilton County, Texas. Gertrude was a lady of medium stature with brown 
hair and blue eyes. She attended Blue Ridge Schools, but graduated from 
Lillian High School (Tarrant County) in 1923 where she received a scholarship to Grubb's Vocational School, 
early forerunner of the University of Texas at Arlington. The family moved and since Lillian schools only had eleven grades, Gertrude attended Mansfield High 
School and graduated again from the twelfth grade in 1924. After High School, Gertrude worked for the telephone company in Amarillo, Texas. On June 12, 
1937, she married William Gerrard Cook, a good-
looking fellow of Dutch heritage, in Ft. Worth. A daughter and son were born of the union. Gertrude 
was very health conscious and worked at a health food store after her children were in school. She was skilled
at cooking, and sewing and her landscape flower 
gardens were always beautiful. She and her husband lived in Tucson, Arizona, then Nederland, San Marcos, and Austin, before settling in Arlington, Texas about 1952. Gertrude was a Baptist, but became a Jehovah Witness sometime in the 1960's while retaining many of her Baptist beliefs. She died on March 29, 1997 and is buried in Laurel Land Cemetery in Ft. Worth.

Source: Gerry Gieger - Summer 1998. and posted 13 August 1998; Picture of tombstone posted 27 September 1998