Richard Wayne Cook

Richard Wayne “Dick” Cook died on June 8 in Tucson, Arizona from congestive heart failure. He was born in Columbus, Ohio in 1931 to a 3rd-generation German mother and a Tennesseean father. The family moved frequently during his childhood as the family went wherever they could to find work in the post-depression years. When the Oak Ridge National Laboratory opened in 1943 near the Cook family’s ancestral home in Harriman, TN they moved there, where Dick went to high school, got his first job, and enjoyed a close relationship with his grandmother. He attended Georgia Tech, graduating with a Mechanical Engineering degree, and initially worked in Chattanooga, where he met and married Nancy Thomas. They were together for 67 years — never away from each other for more than a week or so except for her hospitalization during the Covid isolation times.

As an engineer, he worked in manufacturing during an era when occupational safety and environmental regulations were expanding in the US. He became something of an expert in those areas and travelled internationally as a consultant. A true engineer at home as well, Dick modified a Volkswagen engine, installed central air conditioning in the Ft. Wayne house, invented and built a motorized 3-axis paint mixer, and designed & built an air compressor for the family’s bicycles from an old lawn mower engine, a sewing machine motor & belt, a used propane tank, a simple pressure switch, and a valve that he made in the factory shop.

He was transferred to Fort Wayne, IN in 1973, and he and Nancy built a rich and connected community of friends there. He was active in leadership and theater at First Presbyterian Church of Fort Wayne, and he was proud to serve for several years in a lay pastoral role as a Stephen Minister. After retirement he travelled extensively with Nancy and developed lasting relationships with all their grandchildren. They moved to Tucson in 2018 and he was happy to not shovel snow any more. Probably everyone who knew him appreciated his irrepressible dry sense of humor, which he retained until the end.

Dick is preceded in death by his loving wife, Nancy Cook; his parents, Albert and Phoebe (Draeger) Cook; two sisters and three brothers, and daughter, Jennifer of Marshall, Michigan.

He is survived by sister, Sylvia Bright of Florida; children, Richard Cook of Tucson and Susan Draeger of El Cerrito, California, and son in-law, Jeff Wilson of Marshall, Michigan; ten grandchildren and three great-granddaughters; many nieces and nephews in Tennessee, Alabama, Houston, Indianapolis, and beyond; and uncountable numbers of other family and friends.

Family and friends are encouraged to leave thoughts and memories in the Guest Book section of this website.

A joint memorial event will be planned in Chattanooga later this year.