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Martha Cook "Marney" Fricke

Born: March 9, 1932     Kansas City, Missouri Died: January 6, 2010   Omaha, Nebraska     Services: Memorial Service Monday, January 11, 2009 at 2:00 PM 2:00 PM First Congregational Church Ashland, Nebraska Private Interment Ashland Cemetery, Ashland, Nebraska No visitation Memorials: In lieu of flowers memorials to: Ashland Greenwood School Foundation Martha Fricke Young Women's Leadership Scholarship First Congregational Church

Martha Cook Fricke (Marney) was born in Kansas City, Missouri on March 9, 1932 to William W. and Margaret L. Cook. She moved to Beatrice, Nebraska one year later and graduated from Beatrice High School.

After high school, Martha attended and graduated from Monticello College in Godfrey, Ill., and then transferred to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education degree.

At the University, she was a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity. Since graduating, she has been a member of the UN-L Alumni Board of Directors and was currently a UN-L Foundation trustee.

In November of 1954, she and Robert H. Fricke were married and lived in Ashland. Their two children, Robert C. Fricke and his wife Karen, Mary Fricke Bohn and her husband Mark, all live in Ashland as well as her 4 grand children, Margaret Elizabeth Bohn, Meredith Louise Bohn, Robert Copeland Fricke and Quinn Augusta Fricke.

During her years in Ashland she was active in a number of civic activities. She served as president of the Junior Woman’s Club. She taught hundreds of Ashland-area children to swim during the 20 years she was Water Safety Chairman of the Ashland Chapter of the American Red Cross.

When her children were young, she was a den mother for the Cub Scouts, as well as Girl Scout Cookie and Membership Chairperson.

She was Sunday School Superintendent, Woman’s Fellowship President, Moderator and Trustee at the First Congregational Church of Ashland. She served as President of the Ashland Parent Teacher Association whose membership named her an honorary life member in 1991.

An Ashland Public Library Trustee for 15 years, Martha was was also a past president and member of the Chapter BD of the P.E.O. Sisterhood. She chaired the first Ashland City Parks Board, which developed Wiggenhorn Park and has served on the board of Directors of the Farmers and Merchants Bank for 46 years and as its chairman since 2004.

Martha great interest was education. She served on the Ashland-Greenwood School Board for 23 years . In 1974 she was elected to the Board of Directors of the Nebraska State School Boards and after passing through the chairs, served as its president in 1979-1980.

A national election by fellow school board members placed her on the National School Board’s Board of Directors in 1981, and she became national president in 1990, traveling to all 50 states and numerous foreign countries. Her presidency was unique in that she was the first Nebraskan to serve, and that her home school district was the smallest of any president of the NSBA.

Her office allowed her to serve with numerous national groups and task forces. In these capacities she testifed before Congressional committees and met with cabinet members.

Martha was honored by many groups for her long service to school and children. She has received the University of Nebraska’s Alumni Achievement Award, the Kappa Kappa Gamma National Alumni Achievement Award, the Phi Delta Kappa Norman Thorpe Award, the Governor’s Award in Recognition of Service to Higher Education, and the Walter Boggs Service to Education Award. She was inducted into the Ak-Sar-Ben Court of Honor for her contributions to education.

After her family, her greatest love was football and more particularly Husker football, attending as many games and bowls as she could.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Robert H. Fricke, and her parents William W. and Margaret L. Cook, Sr, of Beatrice, NE.

Survivors include son and daughter-in-law, Robert Cook and Karen Fricke, their children Bobby and Quinn, daughter Mary F. and son-in-law Mark A. Bohn, their children Maggie and Meredith, all of Ashland, sister Mary Cook Marsh of Fremont, and brother, William W. Cook, Jr, of Beatrice and their families.