This is a listing of notifications the Parramatta Marist Old Boys Union has received of the passing of Old Boys. “Vale” is latin for farewell and “Fortior Ito” means go forward with strength.

Click on the Old Boy’s Name for further details and a brief biography.

If we do not have the date of passing then the last day of the known month or year is used.

Please use the comments section at the bottom of the page or the contact form on this website to provide further details.

You can search surnames alphabetically. Click Clear Search on the right-hand side to return to the complete list

The tables immediately below are sorted by Class Year and Year of Passing respectively.

Sorted by Class Year, latest to earliest

Sorted by year of passing, latest to earliest.

Sydney Cooke, 1955

Graduate High School: 15 November 1955 Deceased: 15 June 2017
Photo of Sydney Cooke 1955

Biographical Info

VALE: Sydney Cooke (Class of 1955). Farewell to Syd Cooke from the Class of 1955 who passed away peacefully at Cabrini nursing home yesterday (pictured below with classmate Rob Connelly playing the last post as cadets on Anzac Day 1954). Syd was a larger than life character who was well known in the local community as a long serving town planner for Parramatta and Blacktown City Councils and was responsible for naming many of the streets in the local area (including naming ‘Sydney Joseph Drive’ at Kings Langley/Seven Hills after himself; with adjoining streets after his siblings Yvonne, Bernice, Carole and Thomas with ‘Marnpar Street’ after his parents). Syd was a terrific athlete as a young man, talented musician and also a long serving district cricket coach and umpire. Syd will be sorely missed by his family and classmates. Syd was laid laid to rest on Wednesday 21st June at Pinegrove following a Requiem Mass at Our Lady at Mount Carmel at 12.30pm, Wentworthville. Rest in Peace Syd.

Categories: Vale

3 thoughts on “Sydney Cooke 1955 » Vale Old Boys – Fortior Ito”

  1. Chris was a good friend when I attended parramatta Marist. I used to run into him around the courts, he never seemed to change always a gentleman.

  2. Frank O'Sullivan

    Vale John Cassidy LC 1962 Died 28th August 2019

    John Cassidy and I worked on a religious organisation in our days at Marist Brothers Parramatta. It was to spread the message of Our Lady of Fatima that is, world peace through prayer, the Blue Army. It was a very strange coincidence that it was one of Cardinal Gilroy’s pet projects, but we didn’t know that at the time. The cardinal had set the organisation up in Sydney under Professor F G Coleman Sydney University and Father Cameron head of the Augustinian order in Sydney.

    From 1959 – 1962 I did latin classes at St Mary’s Cathedral, late on Friday afternoon in preparation to enter, my studies for the priesthood. I ran into Cardinal Gilroy on many occasions as he did confessions 5pm to 6pm and I trapped him either going/coming in the presbytery grounds. So the long and short of it all is, that I dragged our John C along with me to say Hi and explain the difficulties we were having with Monsignor McGovern in conducting our Blue Army prayer meetings in St Pats at Parramatta. He smiled at us both & said would we from time to time give him a progress report on our work with the Blue Army. John and I had a few brief encounters with the cardinal & strangely we never had any further problems with the cranky old monsignor.

    John Cassidy was a very humble man and would never have repeated this story but having been befriended by a cardinal, lived in a village named after the cardinal and being buried from the chapel on Friday 6th September 2019 that bears the cardinal’s name, I felt it appropriate to tell the story.

    Frank O’Sullivan

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