Obituary for Paul Cook

Paul Dean Cook

July 18, 1933 – June 1, 2017

Paul Dean Cook of Ponca City, died under the care of Hospice at Via Christi on Thursday, June 1, 2017. A funeral service will be held at 11:00 am on Tuesday, June 6th, 2017, at the Community Christian Church in Ponca City with Rev. Marilyn Merle officiating. Viewing will be available starting at 10:00 am at the church and burial will be at Resthaven Cemetery following the ceremony. Arrangements are under the direction of Trout Funeral Home & Crematory.

Paul was born on July 18, 1933, in Ponca City, OK. The son of Cloyd Cook and Milda (Rose) Cook, Paul was the second of five children and remained close to all of his siblings throughout his life. After graduating from Ponca City High School in 1951, Paul enlisted in the Air Force and was stationed at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tuscon, AZ. While on leave, Paul attended a wrestling match in Perry with his brother Bob, and was introduced to Dorlene Spillman through Bob’s future wife Gloria. One week later Paul and Dorlene were engaged, and were married on September 9th, 1955. In October of 1956, their only child, Jerry Wade, was born in Tuscon, AZ.

Paul trained as a USAF jet mechanic, and after his discharge from the service he planned to work for Boeing in Wichita KS, but hiring was frozen. The family returned to live in Ponca City and Paul enrolled at Oklahoma A&M (OSU) and drove daily with three friends to Stillwater for classes after working until 2:00 am at the Poncan Theater. Paul graduated with his Bachelor of Science with a teaching certificate. Paul’s first teaching opportunity came with the Waynesville, MO school district teaching industrial arts at a brand new junior high school on the army base at Fort Leonard Wood. During this time the family would pack up each summer and move to Stillwater, OK as he pursued his Master’s degree. Upon completing his master’s, Paul got a position teaching mechanical drawing and electricity at West Junior High in Ponca City where he worked until he retired in 1988. Paul was very talented at woodworking. He could build anything with wood or metal and made frames, furniture and remodeled his whole house by himself. You might have seen Paul at the Gulf Station on 7th where he worked after school and on Saturdays for many years.

After retiring, Paul and Dorlene had a very active social life. Paul met his golf buddies bright and early 3 – 4 times weekly for golf at Wentz. Paul and Dorlene were regulars at Enrique’s – their favorite restaurant! Paul and Dorlene were very close with his sister Marty and her husband Gary, and they played cards and dominos together weekly. Paul was a collector and enjoyed collecting Hot Wheels, coins and stamps. He loved to keep an immaculate yard, and was vigilant in cracking the pecans from his trees and picking strawberries from his garden every summer. They would spend part of February each winter visiting his sister Joyce and her husband Monroe in Green Valley, AZ.

When their son married Diane Solinger, and moved to Minnesota in 1994, they began traveling to Minnesota several times a year. The real draw came when their grandchildren arrived! “Papa” was a very devoted grandpa to Christopher and Natalie. He and Dorlene spent 12 Christmases in Mankato, MN, braving the snow and cold to be an active part of their grandkids lives, and also made several more trips each year to make memories with their family. They loved joining in trips to the Children’s Museum, Science Museum, Mall of America and the Minnesota Zoo and were always game to try new restaurants. They also joined them on summer vacations to Duluth and Brainerd, MN.

Paul began to suffer from the effects of Parkinson’s Disease in 2007 and trips to Minnesota became less frequent. In 2014, he moved into Via Christi and shortly thereafter, his beloved wife of 59 years passed away unexpectedly. Ever the optimist, Paul made the best of his situation and got to know all the staff at Via Christi. He was blessed to have several visits a week from his devoted sister, Marty (who would bring him his favorite snacks), former teachers and friends. Jerry made many frequent visits to be with and take care of his father.

Paul, beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother, brother-in-law, uncle ,teacher and friend leaves us with sadness in our hearts, but many treasured memories. We will miss him deeply.

Paul is survived by his son, Jerry Cook and wife, Diane, and two grandchildren: Christopher (20) and Natalie (16) of Moorhead, MN; sister and brother-in-law, Marty and Gary Yates, of Ponca City; sister and brother-in-law, Joyce and Monroe Eisenbeisz of Green Valley, AZ; his sister-in-law, Donna Brengle of Greeley, CO; sister-in-law, Gloria Cook of Orlando, OK; sister-in-law, Kristine Spillman of Oklahoma City, OK; and brother and sister-in-law, John and Barbara Cook of Perry, OK; and many nieces and nephews.

Paul was preceded in death by his father and mother, his beloved wife, Dorlene (Spillman) Cook, brother, Bob Cook, brother in-laws Kenneth Brengle, AC Spillman, and Merel Hafner, and sister-in-law Dorothy Hafner . Flowers may be sent to Community Christian Church, Ponca City or a donation made in Paul’s memory to Hospice of North Central Oklahoma.

Source: Trout Funeral Home