Cleopatra Cogbill of St. Albans, wife of the late Ralph Waukus Cogbill of the Shinnecock Indian Nation, died on July 28 at North Shore Franklin General Hospital in Valley Stream after a brief illness.
The daughter of Burl and Ruth Burnell Moses, “Cleo,” as she was fondly called by family and friends, was born in Florence, South Carolina. She married Ralph Cogbill on March 16, 1946, in Englewood, New Jersey. The couple lived in St. Albans, where she served as a faithful member of St. Alban the Martyr Episcopal Church and worked for the New York Department of Social Services for 36 years, assisting hundreds of families. She and her husband would frequently return to the Shinnecock Indian Reservation where she was a faithful member of the Shinnecock Presbyterian Church.
Mrs. Cogbill loved traveling to the islands, sewing and knitting, and had a great passion for reading, especially the Bible. Survivors recalled last week that she had a true affection for entertaining and cooking. Whenever there was an affair to attend, they added, her flair for fashion was evident, because she always showed up “dressed to the T,” with a fashionable hat to match.
Survivors said that most Wednesdays Mrs. Cogbill could be found at morning mass; then, after services, she would meet with the breakfast club—which she belonged to for more than 25 years—at Jean’s Caribbean-American Restaurant in St. Albans, filling the dining area with laughter.
Predeceased by her husband, she is survived by a daughter, Claudette Cogbill and her husband Jack Bryant, a granddaughter, Claudette Nicole Bryant; and a grandson, Jack Jay Bryant; as well as a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, relatives and friends.
A funeral mass was held on August 2 at the Episcopal Parish Church of St. Alban the Martyr in St. Albans. A repast was celebrated on August 3 at the Shinnecock Presbyterian Church in Southampton, followed by interment beside her husband at Shinnecock Indian Cemetery.
on Aug 4, 2008