Gene W Cook

Gene Walton Cook, 84, of Ponte Vedra Beach passed away on February 28 with his family by his side. He was born in Dothan, Alabama, on October 24, 1931. He moved to Wilmington, North Carolina in 1935 where he lived through his high school years. He enlisted in the US Air Force in 1949 and was honorably discharged in 1952. While stationed in Michigan, he met the love of his life, Irene Roach, and they were married December 2, 1952.

He went to work for General Foods in 1954 as a salesman in Virginia. He spent 35 wonderful years with GF and retired as Head of Sales for the United States and also had additional responsibilities for Western Europe. He loved his job and the people he worked with, many of whom have remained close friends for decades. He always said that one of the best things that ever happened to him was working for GF and being sent to Michigan State by the company, where he achieved a degree in food distribution.

After retiring from GF in 1988, he started a consulting firm in Ponte Vedra Beach and worked with companies including Campbell Soup, Pet Industries and Colgate-Palmolive. He also spent over a decade working with his beloved Romano family in Chicago. While consulting with ConAgra, he was hired as president of a number of their companies in Minnesota, where he worked for three years and earned the company’s Executive of the Year award before retiring again in 1995. After retiring, he was on the Ponte Vedra Zoning Board for 12 years and chairman for 4 years.

He has been a member of the Ponte Vedra Inn & Club and its men’s golf association since 1962. Golf was one of his great joys and he was proud that he could still shoot his age into his 80s. He had a true passion for education, travel and bettering himself.

He leaves a wonderful family that he loved with all his heart and who deeply loved him. His wife of 63 years, Irene, his children Patti Cook, Mike Cook and Donna Roach, grandchildren Sarah Cook Daluisio and Cody Cook, son-in-law Bob Mills, grandson-in-law Gary Daluisio and his sister Carol Elliott Wiley.

Funeral arrangements will be held at 2 p.m., March 6, at PVB United Methodist Church.

Financial gifts in his memory can be sent to PVB United Methodist Church, 76 S. Roscoe Blvd., Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32082, to assist youth in participating in summer opportunities. Arrangements are under the direction of HARDAGE-GIDDENS FUNERAL HOME, 1701 Beach Blvd., Jacksonville Beach, FL.