Dara Cooke Derby, a member of a kamaaina family who lowered racial barriers in her community work, died Saturday at her Honolulu home. She was 95. DARA COOKE DERBY / 1907-2003
Isles’ first Girl Scout
supported art, music,
and education
By Rosemarie Bernardo
CORRECTION
Friday, February 14, 2003» Dora Cooke Derby's first name was misspelled as Dara in a story obituary on Page C5 yesterday.
The Honolulu Star-Bulletin strives to make its news report fair and accurate. If you have a question or comment about news coverage, call Editor Frank Bridgewater at 529-4791 or email him at corrections@starbulletin.com.
rbernardo@starbulletin.comDerby's daughter Anna Blackwell said her mother, serving as acting president of the Junior League of Honolulu during World War II, tried to include women of other races to change the all-Caucasian membership.
"Mother thought it wasn't fair," said Blackwell. "Mother was raised to be a person. ... It's just accepting people as people."
Since then the organization has "had a number of presidents who were anything but haole," Blackwell said.
Derby was born in Honolulu on Sept. 10, 1907. She was the first child of George Paul Cooke and his wife, the former Sophie Boyd Judd. A year later, the Cooke family moved to Molokai, where Derby's father worked as a manager of a Molokai Ranch.
She attended Punahou School until her parents founded Hanahauoli School in 1917. Derby attended Hanahauoli and later returned to Punahou School, where she graduated in 1924.
Derby's grandmother, Anna Rice Cooke, founded the Honolulu Academy of Arts while Derby was in college.
After Derby graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Vassar College in 1929, she returned to Honolulu and worked at the Honolulu Academy of Arts' Education Department.
Two years later, she married Stephen Arthur Derby. They were married for 65 years before he died in 1996 at 91.
Blackwell added that her mother was the first Girl Scout in the islands and later became a Cub Scout den mother.
For years, Derby served as a member of the board of trustees for the Honolulu Academy of Arts, Hanahauoli School Board and Cooke Foundation.
She was also a member of various organizations such as the Morning Music Club, Music Committee at Punahou and Daughters of Hawaii.
Derby also was a board member of the Honolulu Symphony Society and in 1950 founded the organization's Women's Committee, which started a volunteer program of music education in public schools.
For 10 years she was the symphony's executive vice president, retiring in 1970.
Derby enjoyed playing the piano and doing landscape oil paintings. Her children also shared her passion for art and music -- playing instruments such as the ukulele, tuba, cello, trombone and flute.
Blackwell further described her mother as a woman who had a "magnificent sense of humor and a general upbeat energy."
"She was really unique and original," she said. "They don't make 'em like that anymore."
Derby is also survived by daughter Martha McDaniel, sons Philander Cooke Derby and John Montague Derby Sr., 11 grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren, a great-great grandson and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.
Services will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday at Atherton Chapel, Central Union Church. A private burial service will follow.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Hanahauoli School, Honolulu Academy of Arts and the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra.
