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Robert G. Cook • 1925 - 2007 The son of Harry and Beatrice (Moulton) Cook, he was born March 4, 1925, in Minot. He grew up on Valley Street and in St. Leo's School, graduating from there in 1943 when it still was a 12-year school. After school came the Army. World War II was raging. He served for three years, two of them in New Guinea, emerging as a sergeant. He returned to Minot and to the family plumbing business - Harry R Cook & Sons - that his father established in 1938. He remained involved with the business until it closed. He took up at St. Leo's almost where he left off, filling in as the football coach at the request of Rev. J.W. Hogan, then pastor of St. Leo's Parish. He stayed at the helm for five years, doing it for nothing. He figured they got what they paid for, "although we did have one undefeated season," he recalled some years later. From St. Leo's, he connected with Bishop Ryan High School. He and his first wife, the former Rose Bohn, who he married in 1947, became the parents of ten children. They started school at St. Leo's and graduated from Ryan. Beginning in the mid-fifties, he served on the committee that developed the plans to build Ryan. After that, he was there as a parent. In time there was an annual carnival to help pay for the building debt, and then to help keep the school going. He chaired three of those carnivals. For 23 years, he served on the Ryan Activities Association that evolved into the Minot Catholic Schools Foundation. He also was a member of the Minot Ryan Boosters for many years. Some years ago, he established the Cook Family Scholarship at Bishop Ryan. In 2006, he was named to the Minot Catholic Schools Hall of Fame. He was a member and former president of the North Dakota Association of Plumbing and Heating Contractors and a former member of the Minot Home Builders Association. He served on the Minot Recreation Commission for some 20 years and was on the building committee for the All Seasons Arena at the North Dakota State Fairgrounds. He was a member of Our Lady of Grace Catholic Parish and a former member of both St. Leo's and Little Flower parishes. He was a lifetime Fourth Degree member of the Knights of Columbus, and a former member of the Rotary Club of Minot and a Paul Harris Fellow in the club. He also had been a member of the Minot Elks Lodge. He was a member of the Loyal Order of the Moose, the American Legion and the Veteran of Foreign Wars. He was a hunter and chased after fish at Lake Kenosee near Carlyle, Sask., and at Lake Sakakawea. For many years, he owned cabins at both locations. His love for the water continued when he and his wife (Ronnie) spent 17 years vacationing in Texas on the seashore of the Gulf of Mexico. He was proudest of having achieved the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts Association. His first wife Rose died in 1981. On Jan. 29, 1983, he married
Veronica Callahan in Minot. For many years, they worked together
in the food pantry at Our Lady of Grace church. He also had been
a volunteer at Norsk Hostfest and hospice. He is survived by his wife Veronica; his children, Constance (Charles Shaw) Cook, Houston, Michael Cook, Surrey, Kathy Gierke, Minot, Charles (Julie) Cook, Costa Rica, Becky Zahn, Phoenix, John (Barbara) Cook, Williston, Mary (Rick) Rauschenberger, Minot, Cindy (David) Romine, Bismarck, Bernadette and Lisa Cook, both Phoenix; 11 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren; stepchildren, Peggy Nathan, Fargo, Patricia Jaynes, Colorado Springs, Michael (Kim) Callahan, Downers Grove, Ill., and Timothy Callahan, Minneapolis; nine step grandchildren; sisters-in-law, Caroline Cook, Minot; Theresa Nyre, Minot; Anne Bohn (Don) Olson, Mpls, MN, Claire (Virgil) Boatwright, Denver, CO and Patricia Bohn, Bismarck; a number of nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, wife, Rose, and his brothers, Father Blaine Cook and Patrick Cook. Funeral: Friday, May 11, 2007 at 10:30 a.m. at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church, Minot Recitation of the Rosary: Thursday, May 10, 2007 at 7 p.m. at the Thompson-Larson Funeral Home, Minot. Visitation: Thursday, May 10, 2007 from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m. at the Thompson-Larson Funeral Home, Minot. In lieu of flowers memorials are preferred to the Minot Catholic Schools Scholarship Fund or the Donor's choice. Celebrant of the Liturgies: Father Gene Lindemann, pastor of the church Readers: Connie Shaw and Sarah Nathan Gift Bearers: Justin Seifert, Travis Seifert and James Seifert Music Honorary Bearers: Bob's coffee buddies Active Bearers: All of Bob's Grandchildren |
Robert
G. Cook, the plumber's boy who grew to prominence in the Minot
Catholic community and as a plumbing and heating contractor,
died Sunday, May 6, 2007