Shelly’s Story

HAVE PERSEVERANCE AND FAITH. SEE IT, BELIEVE IT, DO IT.

Shelly Cook is a lifetime resident of Warren County with a family heritage that runs deep. Her grandfather, Arthur Burke, helped develop and build Skyline Drive. Around the 1960’s, Arthur had purchased land that included 154 parcels. To honor his legacy, Shelly revitalized the project, Junewood Estates, and has begun developing the land into a riverfront community.

Prior to all of this,

Shelly had hit a couple of rough patches along the way. In the early 2000’s, Shelly’s childhood sweetheart, husband, and father to her children, passed away in a tragic accident. Shelly was left with a small amount of money to take care of herself and her son, Jeremy. With little to her name, Shelly took a chance on herself.

Taking everything she had, Shelly invested in building an assisted living facility, Loving Arms Assisted Living. After filling the facility within 6 months, Shelly began to expand the facility to include more beds for those in need, expanding it by 5500 square feet in 2006. In 2015, she sold the facility for nearly $15 million.

During those years, Shelly wasn’t just building and expanding an assisted living facility. She also continued her education and achieved several accomplishments. First, she became a Registered Nurse through Shenandoah University to help take care of her family. In 2003, she got her Class A Contractor’s License to continue building and expanding her knowledge of properties. In 2011, Shelly started the Loaves and Fishes Food Pantry and created a computer software to help find people in need. Today, Loaves and Fishes serves over 300 people a week. In late 2019, Shelly gained access to her grandfather’s land and by March of 2020, she had commissioned her construction company, Servants Hands Construction, to begin developing and building the land.

Shelly has always been inspired by the work of God and she believes that he is always making moves.

In order to continue providing for her family and turning her life around, Shelly has pursued her own self-taught education across many fields, including design, building and development, and construction. She holds several certifications and titles, including an Assisted Living Administrator’s Certificate, a certified Proctor & Medication Technician, and an Erosion and Sediment Control Manager.

Today, alongside building Junewood Estates, Shelly hopes to inspire other women through her story and her faith.

She loves church and the gospel, singing, giving back, and spending time with her family. Her two sons, Jeremy and Dylan are a huge part of her life and she hopes to have them take over her legacy, as she has done with her grandfather’s. Her efforts are truly a labor of love for her history, family, community, and faith.