Polly Was Exceptional
by Lee Hunt
The title sums up the impact of Dr. Polly Lee Knowlton Cockett, who passed away at age 70 at the Foothills Country Hospice. Polly’s death on May 9 is a huge loss to her family, to Brentwood, to Calgary, indeed to the world.
Tributes to Polly have poured in on the McInnis and Holloway website from the U.S., Guatemala, Brazil, Sweden, and Australia, praising her for her leadership and knowledge. She is lauded as “infectious” and “a creative force,” who exuded “authentic kindness” and “compassion.” Deb Nettesheim put it this way: “Her lens on it all was a weaving of wit and intelligence, passion and dedication.”
Above all, Polly cared: about ideas, about others, about her community, and especially about her family.
Brentwood residents Eleonore and Peter Aukes recall “having many lovely evenings together with Polly and her husband Robin, sharing lively and interesting conversations which are the source of tremendously dear memories for us.”
I first met Polly in 2004 when she, Cheri Macaulay (deceased 2019), and I coordinated the large mural on Brisebois Drive at Northmount Drive. We three went on to organize a second mural in 2005 at Charleswood and Northmount Drives. On both projects, Polly coordinated media coverage, penned masterful funding applications, and wrote the wrap-up summaries required by our funders. Polly’s skill as a wordsmith truly came to the fore.
For over 20 years, Polly was the Environment Representative on the Brentwood Community Board and thus wrote monthly columns in the Bugle keeping readers apprized of a wide range of environmental topics.
Polly will be long remembered and honoured at Dr. E.W. Coffin School in Brentwood. For over 30 years, Polly encouraged students, staff, and community members to steward the Whispering Woods located next to the school. This stewardship included not only digging out non-native and invasive species, but also creating the Whispering Woods Signs which stretch from A to Z. As inspiration for the signs, students were asked to come up with various aspects of nature which would fall under each letter. Juane Priest, now retired but Dr. Coffin principal at the time, comments, “Polly inspired and instilled teachers, support staff, students, parents, and the Brentwood community with a deep care for environmental stewardship.”
But Polly’s impact spread well beyond Brentwood. She was a substitute teacher for many years with the Calgary Board of Education and then, after completing her Ph.D. in Environmental Education in 2013 at U of C, she went on to be a sessional instructor at that university. In 2024, Polly was appointed an Adjunct Assistant Professor.
It is no surprise that Polly’s interests went beyond education and the environment. Since moving to Calgary in 1991, Polly had remained active playing and coaching soccer. One tribute refers to Polly as “soccer player extraordinaire”, while another tells of Polly still playing soccer even shortly after receiving chemotherapy for her cancer.
In addition, Polly and Robin loved hiking in Japan, completing challenging hikes such as the Shikoku Pilgrimmage, Mount Fuji, and the Kumano Kodo Trail.
As sick as she was last September, Polly visited the site where Brentwood’s newest mural was being created under Crowchild where Brisebois becomes 40 Ave NW. As always, Polly was so supportive, sporting that spectacular smile of hers!
Polly Lee will be missed by all who were fortunate to have known her. We at the Bugle extend our condolences to Polly’s husband Robin, children Grayson, Rowan, and Audrey Lane, as well as to her daughter-in-law Courtney, plus her cherished granddaughter Isabelle.
Dr. Polly Lee Knowlton Cockett
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