Andrea Marie (Arkoosh) Cockerham

     Andrea Marie Arkoosh-Cockerham, age 56, a resident of Gooding, passed away on Wednesday, September 18th, 2019 at St. Luke’s Hospital in Boise, Idaho.

     The daughter of Bill and Karen Arkoosh, Andrea was born on September 8th, 1963 in Gooding, Idaho. She was raised on her family’s ranch on the outskirts of town. From a young age, she loved cooking and baking.  She eventually began cooking at her family’s restaurant, the Lincoln Inn, and continued her passion for cooking throughout her life, becoming quite famous among family and friends for her love-filled homemade meals.

     After graduating Gooding High School in 1981, she attended Boise State University, where she studied business.  She went on to receive her cosmetology license through Mr. Juan’s Beauty School in Twin Falls, after which she began working in Gooding as a hairdresser with her good friends, Louisa Sorenson, Fran Graves, and Linda Spence.

     Shortly after moving back to Gooding, she met Mickey Cockerham and four years later he proposed to her in a Pizza Hut in Jerome, Idaho.  On November 6th, 1987, Andrea married Mickey at St. Elizabeth’s Catholic Church in Gooding.  The two of them enjoyed playing softball with their friends, swing-dancing when a good song started playing, and going on adventures in the mountains. Their marriage of 32 years gave them 3 children, Kendra, Gustie, and Clancy.  She loved shopping for her kids, taking them on nature walks, pointing out sunsets, dragging them out into the garden to weed and plant, and welcoming all of their many friends into her home and making them feel like one of her own.  She made her house into a home for many and it became “the gathering place” for all of her loved ones, filled with her contagious warmth and the smell of fresh baked cookies.

     As a life-long friend, Cathi James, said of her, “Diamonds were set into her eyes, and bells jingled when she laughed."  She was fun, and silly and incredibly kind. Those she loved, she loved fiercely. She fed them, and held them, listened and cheered. She was a woman of spirit. She pondered life and made memories. She took pictures...of trains, wildflowers, roads and skies. She liked jeeps, red convertibles, a crackling fire-and strong men, like a guy named Mickey. She prayed and gave thanks. She drank coffee and wine with her chocolate chip cookies, and savored sunshine, shade trees and sun flowers. She loved her people and wanted only the best for them, and in the end she said, she felt very loved by all of them.

     She is survived by her parents - Bill and Karen Arkoosh, her siblings and their spouses - John and Carrie Arkoosh, Michelle and Brent Owen, Susanne and Will Bedke, her many beloved nieces and nephews -  Jake, Joe, Ben, Drew, Laney, Braden, Aubryn, and Falon, her husband - Mickey Cockerham, her daughters and their husbands - Kendra and Brandon Barnes and Gustie and Brandon Renner, and her son, her “baby bird” - Clancy Cockerham. She is preceded in death by her grandparents - George and Elsie “Abby” Byard, and her grandmother, Cleo Faulkner.

     A rosary will be held in her name on Thursday, September 26, 2019 at 5 PM at the St. Elizabeth’s Catholic Church in Gooding with a reception to follow featuring some of Andrea’s famous chocolate chip cookies and refreshments. 

     A funeral mass will be held on Friday, September 27, 2019 at 4 PM, also at St. Elizabeth’s Catholic Church with Father E.J. of Boise officiating, with dinner to follow at the Gooding Country Club - with the family’s usual flair and abundance.  Please come and gather.  All are welcome.

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