BIOGRAPHY OF MRS. LYDIA SYLVANUS COOKEY
Mrs Lydia Sylvanus Cookey was born in Benin City on the 15th of June, 1933, to Pa Samuel Omotosho Uddoh of Benin City, and Madam Ughioro of the Omoregbe Ogiefa family, Benin City.
She spent her early childhood in Onitsha, before she moved to Zaria at the age of 7, to live with her sister Mrs Ayo Adeoye nee Uddoh. She completed her primary education there in Zaria and proceeded to Asaba Convent for her secondary education, which she would later complete at St. Agnes, in Lagos.
Mrs L. S., as she was fondly called by most of us, had an unquenchable quest for education. In her adult years, she bagged an NCE and went on to complete a Bachelor of Education in 1984 at the Rivers State College of Education.
She met her darling husband Sylvanus Abraham Cookey on her way to a Marian Congress – a pilgrimage of faith in Lagos. They got married in November 1955. After their marriage, they moved to the UK where she completed her certificate in Domestic Cookery from City and Guilds of London Institute in 1959. Mrs L. S. would thereafter, return to Jos, Nigeria, where she settled with family at the Vom Research Institute until the pogrom in 1966 when she relocated her family to Enugu.
Mummy taught in different schools like Benin Convent, Holy Rosary Girls Secondary School, Harbour Road Girls Secondary School, Kalabari Girls High School. She was an Assistant Director at the Ministry of Education, a supervisor of schools, and WAEC Examiner of Home Economics. With her experience in Education, she consulted for proprietors of leading primary and secondary schools particularly in setting up the Home Economics Departments. She also served in an advisory capacity at the Catholic Diocese of Port Harcourt Chancery.
She was a very industrious lady who did everything to ensure her children wanted for nothing. When her husband died in 1983, she ensured all her children got their university education, funding this through various business ventures, from SilviKleen Laundry, to supplies, baking cakes, etc. Before she became a professional teacher, she already possessed the qualities of managing not just a small cubicle family like ours but a nation. Praise be to Jesus. Alongside her teaching experience, organization of a good family structure and the home was also part of her natural skill.
She was a woman with many children; all our friends were her children. She had a special place in her large heart for each of them and a special relationship with everyone that crossed her path. All those who came across Mrs L. S. had nothing but great things to say about her and the way she made them feel. They referred to her as ‘the special one.’ Her home was open even to youth corps members who lived close to her; she became their mother for the one year. She was very generous and cooked excellent meals. Her grandchildren will remember her for gifts at various times. Who would not miss Mummy's gift of special dry fish and snails? She was the matriarch of the Uddoh family and never fell short of being a mother to all who came to her.
Mummy spoke all the major Nigerian languages including Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo and Edo; this she used to her advantage, easily mingling with Nigerians from various ethnic groups. Mummy was very intelligent and is known to always quote verses from William Shakespeare’s Julius Ceasar. An avid reader, she was always reading some novel or other.
Being an unapologetic Catholic, she never missed the 5 am Mass on TV; she would attend confession even in her later years. She religiously attended the 7:15 a.m. Mass at Mater Misericodiae. She was a noble member of the Knights of St John St, Mary’s Commandery #460 Port Harcourt and was very proud of this.
Mummy lived life to the fullest and could be known to eat like a king in the morning and a pauper in the evening, always ready to adapt to any situation we found ourselves in. Mummy enjoyed her holidays: she loved to travel both nationally and internationally to visit family and friends.
She was a great woman, an exemplary Ukonu wife, mother and grandmother. She was a great aunty and mother to many. She was the very first chosen Chairperson of Ukonu Women Peace Forum that ultimately gave birth to Ukonu Women Forum. Above all, she was a great friend to all of us working calmly in the background to ensure our success which she celebrated proudly.
May she rest in perfect peace, as we all take solace that she gave us all she could ever give, with beautiful fondness and memories to cherish. Her life will forever remain a model for us. She lives on in our hearts.