Ashley Nicole (Stafford) Cook

Ashley Nicole Cook, age 39, of Anderson Indiana, passed away unexpectedly on Friday, February 24, 2023 at IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie, Indiana. Ashley was born on January 31,1984 in Anderson, Indiana to parents; Gwendolyn “Rena’” Stafford and David Howard Stafford. Ashley attended Pendleton High School until 2002. She continued her pursuit of education attending Harrison College and Indiana Business College, where she graduated and earned her Associate’s degree on September 18, 2005. Ashley was a very driven and dedicated student. She received several awards for perfect attendance and graduated college with a 3.95 GPA. Ashley was employed by Keter Manufacturing in Anderson, Indian as a Customer Service Representative. Ashley was responsible and dependable and had such a great work ethic, she never missed a single day of work. It was during this time she met her husband, Jeff Cook. Ashley had beautiful hazel eyes and after Jeff looked into Ashley’s eyes she had his heart. Both coming from broken marriages in the past, Jeff built Ashley’s confidence up and Ashley helped keep Jeff on the straight and narrow. Ashley and Jeff were married on September 30, 2014. Together, they made memories and made each other better. Jeff was Ashley's best friend. Ashley liked listening to Alternative Rock Music such as Cage The Elephant, she absolutely did not like Country Music, Ashley enjoyed being outdoors and going to parks, especially when she was able to spend it gathering with family. Although Ashley was an only child, family was important to Ashley and she always tried to bring everyone together. Ashley enjoyed watching a good scary movie or tv show, she liked the Walking Dead and the movie, Annabelle, the spinoff from The Conjuring. Ashley also loved the benefit of living close to Indy Scream Park where she and Jeff would get free tickets due being neighbors to the park. Ashley loved tacos. She loved her dogs and Jeff said when they married he knew she was the dog lover of the family. She was really proud of “Blue Thunder” her Nissan truck. With her family, Ashley was at times gentle as a butterfly and she could be as fierce and protective as a dragon, both of which she admired. Overall, Ashley was pretty much a homebody, aside from going to the park and enjoying the outdoors, she and Jeff liked staying home with each other. The exception to that was when they were supporting their children in sports. Ashley was an Indiana Mustangs travel softball mama. She loved watching her daughter Lillian on the field. Ashley also cheered on her son, Jesse while he was a wrestler at Pendleton High School and continued to cheer him on after he graduated high school when his hard work paid off by achieving the role of Manager at Prime Car Wash. Ashley was especially proud of her son Charlie, who was diagnosed with Autism and she stressed the importance of Autism awareness. Ashley was raised by her beloved grandmother Nellie and grandfather Howard Stafford, who instilled old-fashioned values of family. Ashley put everyone’s needs before her own, she made sure everyone she loved was taken care of first. 
Ashley is preceded in death by her grandparents, Howard and Nellie Stafford. In addition to her parents, David and Rena’, Ashley is survived by her husband, Jeff Cook, son, Jesse Johns, daughter, Lillian Johns and son, Charlie Cook, who all reside at home. 
Ashley is also survived by her stepdaughters, Ciara Cook; of Indianapolis, Madaya Christian, of  West Virginia, stepson, Jalen Cook, of Anderson and niece, Courtney Dullaghan Steger, of Mooresville. Also mourning the loss of Ashley are mother and father in-law, Margie and Larry Polston, brother-in-law, Brian Cook, sister-in-law, Crissy Soots and brother-in-law Jim Soots, as well as numerous other family members and friends. 
A cremation will take place and a gathering of family and friends will be held on Friday, March 10, 2023 at 2:00 pm at the Falls Park Community Building located at 299 Falls Park Drive, Pendleton, IN 46064 to gather together, share memories and celebrate the life of Ashley. To show financial support to help the family due to Ashley’s unexpected passing, a GoFundMe page has been set up- you may donate at: https://gofund.me/238e23fe  
The staff of Liming Family Funeral are honored to serve the family of Ashley Nicole Cook.

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