BIDDEFORD — Paul and Florence Cookson will be laid to rest together at St. Joseph’s cemetery in Biddeford on July 7, 2021.

Both are former residents of Biddeford, Maine, who moved to California in the early 1960s at the very beginning of the technology boom in Silicon Valley.

Born in Biddeford on July 29, 1926, to Arthur and Demarise Elyse (Tardif) Cookson, Paul was the youngest of seven siblings that included Lena Verrier, Eva Beaupre, Rose Cloutier, Leo Cookson, Herve Cookson all from Biddeford, Maine, and Rita Grenier from Mountain View, California. Paul passed away at the age of 86, in Sunnyvale, California, on Aug. 9, 2012 after a short hospitalization.

Born in Biddeford on May 30, 1928, to Joseph and Emma (Hamel) Dubois, Florence was the youngest of three siblings that included Claire Nolet and Elizabeth Martin, both from Maine, and Lucille Sanshagrin from New Hampshire. Florence joined her husband at the age of 92, in Mountain View, California, on Nov. 14, 2020 after eight years as a widow.

Paul and Florence married in Biddeford,

on April 17, 1948, shortly before Paul shipped off to Europe. Paul served in the U.S. Army in allied-occupied Austria as an engineer and English-French interpreter/translator.

The couple moved to California in the early 1960s, and lived in Cupertino where Paul worked for San Mateo County and Florence worked for Varian in electronics. They were very active in their local Roman Catholic church where Paul sang in the choir and Florence was a member of the altar society. They eventually settled down in Sunnyvale, California, where they enjoyed spending time with friends and family that included Paul’s older sister, Rita and her husband Maurice.

While Paul and Florence never had children, they had 14 nieces and nephews and over 50 grand nieces and nephews.