Faye M. Cool

Faye Marian (Tanner) Cool was born July 31, 1926, and died peacefully on July 11, 2025, at Brookestone View.

Faye was born at Moose Jaw, Sask. Canada to J.D. and Ruth Tanner. Her father was farming, and a few days before she was born, the crops were lost to a hailstorm. Her dad always said the only thing they raised that year was Faye. When she was five, her parents and brother Glenn moved to Colorado where her father went to work for his Uncle Hershel Young at a grain elevator at Sterling. At eight, Faye had measles and as a result her ear drums were ruptured. This hearing loss defined her life as hearing aids were expensive.

Faye graduated from Sterling High School in 1944. She would tell stories of walking home from school in the dust storms, going to the movies on Sunday, December 7th and learning of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and of classmates leaving for the service before graduation.

Faye was in the first class of students at Northeastern Jr. College in Sterling. In the summer of 1945, she and her good friend Esta attended summer school at Colorado Teacher’s College in Greeley to get an emergency teaching certificate. Faye and Esta’s first teaching job was at Rockland Country School. Faye taught the lower grades.

After teaching at Rockland Country School, Faye and Esta taught at Fleming with Faye teaching first grade. It was here that Faye met a tall, handsome rancher and she and Norris Cool were married on June 20, 1948 at Sterling. The night before their wedding, a bad hailstorm broke out all the windows on the west side of the church.

They moved to the ranch, which Norris’ parents had homesteaded. There was no electricity or running water at first. Four children were born to this union. Colleen Joyce in 1949, Roger Norris in 1950, Neil Curtis in 1952, and Elinor Ruth in 1954. The years were filled with raising kids and farm work.

Faye enjoyed many things. She loved libraries and books. She sewed and quilted, knitted and crocheted. She liked to go to garage sales and thrift stores. Each year a garage sale gift was given at Christmas from something she finished or something ridiculous. She cheered the Huskers and the Broncos! She faithfully watched Sunday church on TV and attended Bible study and Bingo.

Faye’s talent was being a freelance writer. Her publication name was Faye Tanner Cool. She had columns, feature stories, children’s stories and poetry published in national and regional magazines and newspapers including Cappers Weekly, Grit, Happiness, Sunshine, Progressive Farmer, Denver Post Roundup, Oregonian, and Wall Street Journal’s “Pepper and Salt.” Her children’s poems have appeared in The Instructor and Jack and Jill. Other poetry has appeared in Nebraska Life, Plains Song Review, Nebraska Fence Post, Silver Wings, and Haiku Hippodrome.

In the fall of 1975, the ranch at Fleming was sold with plans to expand elsewhere into a larger family operation. Roger was killed in a truck accident and the dream of a bigger place was gone. The following years were a quest to find something. They bought and rehabbed many properties. They lived at Brush, CO; Anselmo, NE; Colby, KS; Joes, CO; Arnold, NE; Broken Bow, NE; North Platte, NE; Oshkosh, NE; Evans, CO; Rich Hill, MO; finally retiring to Merna, NE in 1999. After Norris passed, Faye moved to the Regency Apartments, then to Off Broadway, and finally to Brookestone View.

Faye is survived by two daughters Colleen (Rod) Weber of Broken Bow, NE, and Elinor Cool (Norm Fritz) of Palmer, NE. Grandchildren Brenda (John) Barnes of Cedar Falls, IA; Janice (Dale) Nozicka of Broken Bow, NE; Dr. Greg Weber (James Barnett) of Minneapolis, MN; and Carrie Justine Cool of Billings, MT. Great-grandchildren Devin Nozicka (Delaney Sherbeck), Tyler and Marlee Nozicka, all of Broken Bow, NE; Zoe Mangus, Billings, MT; and Sydney and Halle Barnes, Cedar Falls, IA. Brother, Jim Tanner and Sisters-In-Law, La Rue Tanner and Bobbi Tanner.

Private family inurnment services will be held at a later date at Fleming, CO.