Former Benton Harbor mayor passes away
Posted: Aug 3, 2021 8:18 PM EDT
BERRIEN COUNTY, Mich. -- Former Mayor Wilce L. Cooke of Benton Harbor passed away this week at the age of 83.
Cooke was a 1958 graduate of Benton Harbor High School and began a career as a nurse at the old Mercy Hospital in Benton Harbor in 1968.
Cook was eventually elected mayor of Benton Harbor for two separate periods from 1981 to 1987 and from 2004 to 2011.
The city commission renamed Benton Harbor City Hall to the Wilce L. Cooke Municipal Building in 2018.
It was reported that Cooke had been battling cancer in recent years.