April 20, 1934 – November 10, 2018
Lieutenant Colonel Walter (Donald) Cooke, USAF (Ret.) passed away peacefully at home on November 10, 2018 at the age of 84. Lt. Colonel Walter Cooke was born on April 20th, 1934 in Hartford Connecticut. He was the son of Walter and Victoria Cooke, who had immigrated from Lithuania in the early 1900’s to become citizens of the United States.
Don joined the Air Force in February 1953 and retired in May 1977. During his 24 years of service he logged over 5,000 hours of flight time. He was an Air Operations Officer, Flight Engineer and Fighter/Bomber/Tanker Pilot who received a Bronze Star Medal and numerous other commendations and awards. He was part of the support team for the Blackbird SR71 and was one of two B52 pilots to circumnavigate the globe. While serving, Don attended Bellevue College located in Bellevue Nebraska where he received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business Administration. He later attended the University of Oklahoma in Norman Oklahoma where he worked towards a Masters Degree in Public Administration and Human Relations. An avid outdoorsman, Don enjoyed hunting and was a master fly fisherman who created his own flies and travelled as far as Alaska and Patagonia in pursuit of his passion.
After Don retired from the Air Force, he lived in Sutherlin Oregon before moving to Colorado Springs in 1980. In Colorado Springs Don became President of the Burmeister, Cooke & Waugh, Inc. Financial Services. Don was a long-term member of the Colorado Springs Rotary Club and was a Paul Harris Fellow. He also volunteered to help establish an agricultural credit cooperative system in Eastern Europe with the Winrock International.
Don was married to Janice (Jan) Wilkes Cooke in September of 2002. They shared an incredible life together. Walter is survived by his wife Jan, his brother Jack (Carol), his three children, Daniel (Brigette), Victoria and Jeffrey (Kathryn) Cooke, three step-children; Julie Anderson (Johnnie), Joni (Scott) Brookes and Jerry (Brandi) Haugen, his 10 grandchildren; Rachel, Bowman, Amanda, Jennifer, Christopher, Ryan, Megan, Jessica, April and Brody. He also is survived by his great-grandchildren, Gabby, Gavin, Jenna and Daimon.
A memorial service to celebrate the life of Don will be held at Swan Law Funeral Home at 501 North Cascade Avenue, Colorado Springs, 80903, on November 17, 2018. Visitation will begin at 10:00 AM with the service at 11:00 AM and the reception to follow. A Graveside Service will be held at the Pikes Peak National Cemetery located at 10545 S. Drennan Road, Colorado Springs at 10:00 AM on Wednesday, November 21st.
Walter Don Cooke will be remembered forever.
