Obituary
Tracy Scott Cooksley passed away on December 31, 2023, at the age of 64. He was born in Washington, D.C. to a military family that frequently relocated across many U.S. states and Germany, teaching him early on in life to make friends easily.
As a child, he loved exploring the woods, climbing trees, and splashing in puddles (especially if it had the added bonus of getting his sister wet). To the detriment of his parents’ nerves, he was a daredevil from the start, never afraid to go as fast as possible. Whether he was riding a dirt bike or Harley, driving fast cars or skiing black diamonds, without the burden of fear or doubt he lived each and every moment to the fullest. He loved boating and fishing and dreamed of one day catching a blue marlin.
Tracy was adept at working with his hands and wasn’t afraid to start a new business or change careers working in a wide variety of construction and transportation trades through the years. He was no stranger to hard work, but he’ll be fondly remembered as the life of the party. He was usually the person singing the loudest, jumping in the pool first, getting the dirtiest, or betting it all. He wasn’t afraid to give up most of his belongings and move to another country. He was generous and would gladly give you the shirt off his back. He was laid back and even when life threw him challenges, it was “all buttah, buttah”.
He liked to say that “growing old is an extreme sport” and while he didn’t grow old enough, he squeezed as much life as he possibly could into the years he had. He was well loved and will be sorely missed.
Left to remember him are his dedicated partner Jaconna “Connie” Lawrence, his former-wife and mother of their children Laurie Cooksley and daughters Ashley and Alexis Cooksley, and his sister Deborah (Bill) Marquardt. Tracy is preceded in death by his parents Col. Boyd and Marie Cooksley.
A celebration of life was held in Apex, NC on Saturday, January 6, 2024 at the Local Bar in Apex, NC. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations are made in his honor to the USO (uso.org), American Cancer Society (cancer.org), or Carolina Tiger Rescue (carolinatigerrescue.org).
