Obituary of Sheila G Cockcroft
Sheila G. Cockcroft a long time resident of Larchmont, New York and most recently of Norwalk, Connecticut passed away on February 17, 2019 at the age of 90.
She was born on January 15, 1929 in Leicester England. Sheila was a graduate of the Leicester College of Arts and Crafts (now Du Montfort University) earning a Bachelor’s degree. After graduation, she worked in clothing design becoming the lead Dress Designer at George Cattel’s textile factory in Leicester, England in the early 1950’s.
Sheila met Michael Cockcroft at the St. Barnabas Church dance in December 1943. In 1951 Michael went to Egypt and Tripoli with the British Army while Sheila moved to Belfort, France and continued her career in fashion design and manufacturing for the next two years. Upon the completion of Michael’s military service, she greeted him at Leicester Station in 1953. They married soon afterwards, Sheila continued working in dress design, and Michael took a high school teaching job in Leicestershire.
Not long after marrying, they moved to the United States to join Sheila’s parents where her father worked for a Leicester company in America. Shortly after arriving in the United States, they settled in Larchmont, New York where they lived for over 30 years.
Sheila and Michael then concentrated on raising their children - Christopher Cockcroft (Jessica) of Greenwich, Connecticut and Sarah Philips (John) of Branchburg, New Jersey. In addition to raising two children and running a household, Sheila found time to work for several years in costume design for an educational traveling company (Biggs Rosati Productions). In 1988, she and Michael relocated to the Silvermine area of Norwalk, Connecticut.
In addition to her loving husband and children, she is also survived by three grandchildren, David Cockcroft, William and Peter Philips, two great grandchildren and several loving cousins in the U.K.
Sheila was known for her quick wit, love of travel, reading, classical music, art, tennis and gardening. Sheila enjoyed cooking and entertaining with her friends and family.
A celebration of Sheila’s life will be held for family and friends at a later date. Please contact Sarah Philips for more information: sarahphilips2@yahoo.com