In May 1929, Enid Walker, age 14, and her mother were aboard an ocean liner just departed from San Francisco, traveling to Sweden via New York to spend the summer with relatives. Also aboard was James Cobb, age 19, traveling to New York on his way to Annapolis, Maryland, where he had just been accepted as a midshipman at the US Naval Academy. Between their first meeting during a game of shuffleboard, and James’s disembarking in New York 10 days or so later, they had fallen deeply in love—all very proper, given Enid’s age and under the gaze of her protective mother. So much in love, that neither dated another until they were married six years later, sustained with letters, Dad’s occasional visit to San Francisco, and Enid’s presence at the USNA graduation in June 1933.
Fast forward twenty years, Enid has just moved with my two brothers and me to join now Captain James Cobb in Naples, Italy, where he had been assigned to NATO headquarters. Several months later, returning home from a party, and just before her 39th birthday, Enid suddenly lost consciousness and died the following day having suffered a cerebral hemorrhage. She was buried at the Cimitero Britannico in Naples. Over the years and across the ocean, she was sadly missed, especially since my father’s death in 1980. Two years ago, with the assistance of a few Il Cenacolo members and the remarkably efficient and helpful cemetery staff in Naples we were able to bring Enid’s remains home for placement next to those of Admiral James Cobb, now buried at the US Naval Academy cemetery in Annapolis, Maryland. I will talk of my time in Naples, its permanent impression on me, and the origin of my deep love for Italy and its culture.
David Cobb lives in Belvedere, California, working on his various projects, sailing on the Bay with friends, attempting to learn Italian, traveling, hiking, and reading a lot.
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