Arlene R. Cook

Arlene Rittman Cook

Arlene Rittman Cook -- dental hygienist, international traveler, long-standing church choir member and resident of Fairport and Penfield, New York -- died Monday, July 7, 2025. She was 90.

Arlene is survived by her three daughters, Catherine (Cate) J. Puzo, of Pasadena, C.A.; Julie E. Andreas, of Rochester, N.Y.; and Lori A. Toolan, of Babylon, N.Y. She also has two grandsons, Max and Wyatt Andreas, and one great-granddaughter, Lena, all in the Rochester area.

Her sister, Adah M. Weigand, predeceased her, also at the age of 90, as did her former husband, Lyman C. Cook, 90, of Webster, N. Y.

Arlene was born on September 18, 1934, the second daughter of Esther and Kenneth Rittman, in Hamburg, N.Y. Growing up, she took her education seriously and graduated from high school as an Honors Society member. Extra curriculars included choral groups and baton-twirling as a majorette in the marching band.

She graduated from Rochester’s Eastman School of Dental Dispensary in 1954 and many of the principles of dentistry stayed with her for life

Marriage came soon enough between her and high-school sweetheart Lyman Cook. They married in January 1957 and made a home in Cherry Creek, N.Y. where she was a practicing dental hygienist until 1959 when Catherine was born.

At this life’s turning point, Arlene decided to devote the next 50-plus years to motherhood and family. Daughter Julie came along in 1963, and the family moved once again, this time to Woodhull, N.Y. The upheaval continued a year or so later, when it was on to Fairport, N.Y. where Lori was born in 1968. The rapid succession of moves was in support of her husband’s career and advancement in secondary education.

Arlene and Lyman divorced in 1983 after which she returned to the workforce as a dental hygienist in Fairport.

There, she met Chris Leys, a patient from Fair Haven, N.Y.; he became her loving companion until her death.

Chris was her inspiration to travel both domestically and internationally, often on bike tours, up into her 80’s. The couple were also mainstays at the Fair Haven Yacht Club, where Chris is a long-standing member.

One constant in her life was Arlene's active membership and leadership in the First Congregational Church of Fairport, singing and soloing in the choir. She also served as a deaconess and in the Ladies Circle and made sure her daughters and grandsons attended Sunday School.

During her life, Arlene survived breast cancer, played a significant role in raising her grandchildren, tolerated the family pets, (dogs, hamsters, cats and a guinea pig but only one at a time), walked a mile or more daily (rain or shine), and loved ice cream and chocolate. She’d even hide her daughters’ Halloween chocolates in the basement chest freezer!

With her final years came the unpleasantries of Alzheimer’s, falls, hip fractures, and a heart attack. She found her eternal peace in the care of a kind and skilled hospice team at Penfield Place, Penfield, N.Y. Now, Arlene is reunited with her beloved sister, parents and friends who have gone before her. Peace be with them all.

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