Memorial for
Gordon Lee Cook 1943-2011
Dear Otterbein Friends in the Class of ’65, Cookie and I shared many wonderful memories of our college days. I met him after convocation, outside Cowan Hall in the fall of ’62. He asked me out, and we had our first date which wasn’t one of our wonderful memories—in fact, all we could remember about the event was that it was after a football game and neither one of us wanted a second date! One year later, we were cast opposite each other in Gigi, and the onstage chemistry did not transfer to real life at all. Then came the USO Tour of The Boyfriend. Cookie and I were both in the show, and after watching a rehearsal, my Mother thought I should date that tall blond-haired boy. Who knew, Mother really does know best! In addition to Otterbein Theater: Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity, Men’s Glee Club, and AFROTC brought many memorable times with unforgettable friends and professors. (Gus Shackson, you probably know much more about these memorable experiences than I do!) After graduating from Otterbein, Cookie was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant and went on to have a very fulfilling career in the United States Air Force. His 26 years as an Air Force pilot began in 1966 when he went to Undergraduate Pilot Training at Laughlin AFB in Del Rio, Texas. Gordon and I were married over Labor Day weekend in 1966, and the years truly began to fly by. After pilot training, Cookie was off to Vietnam in March of 1967. During his year in Vietnam, he flew over 1,000 sorties in the C-123 Provider delivering supplies to the Marines at Khe Sanh and to soldiers at numerous locations throughout the country. When he returned from Vietnam, he was assigned to Norton AFB in San Bernadino, CA, where he flew the C-141 Starlifter. One of Cookie’s most memorable missions in the C-141 was flying the final leg home to the U.S. for the Apollo astronauts after their return from space. It was also during this assignment that our beautiful daughters, Kristin and Laura, were born. (And at some point during this assignment, “Cookie” became “Gordy”.) Also, our Disney adventures began. Gordy loved taking us to Disneyland, and later, Disney World. This grew into a family vacation ritual that was shared throughout our kids’ adulthood. (Our daughter, Laura was even married in Disney World.) And when the grandchildren came, this joyful tradition continued. During our time in California, Gordy was selected to attend Squadron Officer School (SOS) at Maxwell AFB, Alabama, where he was recognized as a Distinguished Graduate. Following SOS, we moved to Minot, North Dakota, where Gordon worked in missiles with the Strategic Air Command. He returned to flying in a “big way” as a C-5 Galaxy pilot at Dover AFB, DE. During this assignment, Gordy flew extensive missions all over the world.