Nora Marie Van Hook

Nora Marie Van Hook passed away in her home on Sunday, June 16, 2013 after a 21 month long battle with lung cancer. At the time of her passing she was surrounded in love by her husband, children and other family members. She was 61 years old. Nora was born on April 23, 1952 in Kankakee, Illinois. She was the second child born to Joseph I. and Barbara Azzarelli. She received her B.S. in Occupational Therapy from Colorado State University in 1976. While she was studying at Colorado State she met the love of her life, Steve Van Hook. They were married on August 21, 1977 in Kankakee, Illinois. After their wedding they moved to the Denver, Colorado area where they have resided ever since. She spent the majority of her career at Craig Rehabilitation Hospital, helping rehabilitate those who have suffered severe spinal cord injuries. She began her career there in 1977 and remained there on and off until she retired in 2002. Throughout the years Nora gave birth to three children: Joshua, Nicole, and Jacob. She had a passion for the arts and loved to paint. After she retired she took up painting full time and her works have been an inspiration to many. In addition to painting Nora loved animals and spent a lot of time with her previous dog Kody, current dog Mac, and her cat, Livvy. She had a unique ability to bring people together and spent much of her free time socializing with her different groups of friends, including her ""Bookless"" Book Club, her painting group, ""The Loose Dawgs"" and her Nia dance classmates. She also loved spending time with her family, especially her husband and children, her mother and her siblings. Nora was preceded in death by her father, Joseph I. Azzarelli, her father in law, Gerald Van Hook, her beloved yellow lab Kody, as well as numerous uncles, aunts, and cousins. She is survived by her devoted husband Steve and her children Josh, Nicole, and Jake, as well as by her mother Barbara Azzarelli, her mother-in-law Mary Nell Anders (Pete), her sisters Pat Lynch (Mike), Nancy Delgado(Mike), Jayne Korstick, and Lynn Zielinski (Jerry), her brother Joe Azzarelli (Diane), and her sisters-in-Law Mary Escamilla (Joe), Lee Ann Halligan (BJ), Patty Van Hook and Janus Herron. She is also survived by her seven nieces and six nephews on the Azzarelli side and three nephews on the Van Hook side, as well as innumerable great-nieces and nephews, aunts, cousins and other family members. After being diagnosed Nora chose to make her journey with cancer very public and posted regular updates on the website CaringBridge (www.caringbridge.org/visit/noravanhook). In doing so she has taught hundreds how to live with a terminal illness with grace, finesse, and, above all, humor. A visitation will be held at Horan and McConaty Funeral Service, 5303 E. County Line Rd., (one block west of Holly), Centennial, CO 80122 on Friday, June 21, 2013 from 4:00 to 8:00pm. A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, June 22, 2013, at 1:00pm, with a light reception to follow. Memorial donations can be made to the Art Students League of Denver, 200 Grant Street, Denver, CO 80203, or the Azzarelli Outreach Clinic, 341 South St. Joseph Avenue, Kankakee, IL 60901. Please share your memories of Nora and condolences with her family by signing the guestbook below.