Obituary of Jerome Cook

Jerry never met a fish he couldn’t catch, a joke he couldn’t remember, or someone he didn’t offer to help. He always had a twinkle in his blue eyes, especially for the love of his life Mary Jane, his wife of 67 years. Jerry died in the Tucson home of his son Gary and his wife Kirsten on December 23, 2014 surrounded by love with the sensitive support of Carondelet Hospice. Jerry and Mary Jane’s other son Douglas, currently lives in Payson, AZ. Jerry was born in Albion, MI to Marie and Jerome D. Cook, Sr. on Jan. 12, 1926. Jerry loved cars. He bought his first, a 1923 Model T, for $15, when he was 13. Later he restored and resold classic sports cars, but not before his teenage sons had a lot of fun driving them. Jerry served in the Naval Reserves during WWII mainly on Attu Island, Alaska. While his sons were young, Jerry built a cottage on a chain of lakes near their home in Jackson, MI. There the family spent many carefree summers. In 1988, after retiring from a career as a millwright and moving to the Voyager RV Resort in Tucson, he and MJ spent 26 happy years near Gary’s family and granddaughters, Tekla and Tamara. Both are married with a daughter and Tekla is step-mom to Andrew Ayers. Jerry is also survived by grandson Ryan Cook. An avid hunter and fisherman, Jerry could fix just about anything and he loved to work with his hands. He mastered countless crafts, and for many of the last years of his life was proud to create out of yucca stalks the walking sticks that Dr. Andrew Weil presents to each graduate of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine. Any flowers should be sent to the church, or donations can be made to your favorite charity or to Holy Cross Lutheran Church: www.holycrosstucson.org A memorial service will be held at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Tucson at 1:00 pm on Sat., January 10, 2015.