Madaline Kay Cooksey

Madaline Kay Cooksey, 86, passed away December 1, 2025, in Orlando, FL, leaving a legacy of love for God, her family, and her friends.

Kay Cooksey was the third of five children born to James C. Patton and Mary Maxine Patton on May 16, 1939 in Highland County, OH. Kay is survived by her son, Jimmie, of Orlando, FL, daughter, Elizabeth Paolero (Anthony), grandchildren Maddie and A.J. of Portsmouth, RI, brother Jerry (Mary) of Brecksville, OH, brother John (Marylou) of Media, PA, sister-in-law Marybeth Goodburn of Deerfield Beach, FL, many nieces and nephews, and extended family, including Lt. Col (Ret.) Gary King of MI and Matthew Butler of GA. Although Kay successfully battled ovarian cancer in August 2021, complications caused by dystonia resulted in her death.

Kay had fond memories of life on her parents' dairy farm in OH with her older siblings Jim and Rosemary, and younger twin brothers John and Jerry. Her mother, Maxine, had 7 sisters, and Kay enjoyed many large family gatherings. She loved riding and showing her horse, Tex, her dog, Yippy, and the lifelong friends she made there. Kay worked in the family ice cream store, edited her high school newspaper, played the piano and glockenspiel, and she was on the Queen's Court for the Sesquicentennial Celebration. After graduating from Hillsboro High School in 1957, Kay attended Ohio State University, majoring in journalism, where she met her future husband in history class.

Kay married the love of her life, Jim Cooksey, on December 18, 1960. She was a wonderful military wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend, prayer warrior, Sunday school teacher, den mother, brownie leader, executive assistant, and fundraiser, known for her bright smile and warm hospitality.

Kay and newly commissioned 2nd Lieutenant Jim Cooksey lived their first few years together and began raising their two children in Fort Lewis, Washington, Ft Sill, OK, Ft Wolters, TX, and Ft Rucker, AL before Jim was sent to Vietnam and Kay and the kids moved back to be near family in Hillsboro, OH. Kay and the kids stayed at Ft. Wolters again during Jim’s second tour in Vietnam in 1967. After the war, the Cookseys were stationed at Ft. Campbell, KY, Ft. Hood, TX, and Ft. Leavenworth, KS, and then sent to Orlando where Jim worked on flight simulators. In 1980, Kay and their teenage children stayed in Orlando while Jim served in Korea.

Both Jim and Kay retired from the Army in 1981, as a Lieutenant Colonel and his wife. Kay was an outstanding officer's wife and mother throughout Jim's military career, holding down the fort at home while he was away, planning military and family celebrations, and volunteering as a budget counselor for Army Community Service.

As Jim began his civilian career with war simulators, Kay joined the workforce, too. The bulk of her twenty years as a meticulous executive assistant was spent in the auditing department at Southeast Bank and at CNL Financial Group in Downtown Orlando, where she retired as the assistant to the President and Chief Operations Officer and Director of CNL Hospitality.

In 1994, Kay and Jim became grandparents, and there were none better. Maddie and A.J. were their pride and joy. Before Kay was diagnosed with ormandibular dystonia in 2015, she was well into her 15 year letter writing campaign to raise funds for the Dystonia Medical Readarch Foundation in honor of Maddie, who was diagnosed with early onset generalized dystonia as a small child. Kay put her extraordinary organizational and communication skills to work and raised almost $70K for the DMRF. In 2019, her beloved Jim passed away, and Kay's dystonia was causing pain and affecting her ability to speak and swallow. She worked hard to communicate during her last, difficult, years, writing, typing, and giving her famous thumbs up or down, but her faith and love continued.

The service for Kay Cooksey will be held Saturday, January 31, at 11 AM at Colonial Chapel/Carey Hand: 2811 Curry Ford Road, Orlando, FL 32806. Internment will be at Arlington National Cemetary at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, please support the Dystonia Medical Research Foundation: https://dystonia-foundation.org/donate-other-ways/donate-online/