TRR photo by Laurie Stuart Pictured from the left are Judge Cooke's beloved wife Alice with sons Ed and George, Mary Ann Toomey, Lawrence H. Cooke II and wife Catherine at graveside services at Rock Ridge Cemetery. (Click for larger image)

By DAVID HULSE

MONTICELLO - Under a bright blue Sullivan County sky, one of its favorite sons, Judge Lawrence H. Cooke, was laid to rest at Rock Ridge Cemetery on Monday.

Thousands mourned his loss over the weekend after the 85-year-old Monticello native and former Chief Judge of New York State passed away at home on August 17, following a lengthy illness.

The county courthouse, which had been renamed in Cooke's honor three years ago, became his bier as he was laid in state Sunday afternoon in the central courtroom amid a sea of flowers and an honor guard of state and local police agencies.