Maria “Mookee” Korbiniana Taft was born Jan. 29, 1933, to Resi and Martin Beer in Westerham, Germany, a small upper Bavaria village. She grew up with four other siblings, Detti (1934), Martin (1932), Martina (1931) and Elvira (1938). After attending eight years of volksschule during the war years of 1939 to 1945, she started her long working years.

From 1947 to 1956, her jobs were plenty and diversified: Babysitting, childcare and learning how to cook. In 1956, she met her husband, John Charles Taft, and in 1957, they married for the next 43 years. “John made me a Hood River girl as he never left his birthplace (Hood River)”. Mookee started a cooking job at the Elks club in 1960 until 1972. Then from 1972–1995, she was the head cook at Hood River Valley High School.

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