He was born December 18, 1922 to L.P. and Sadie Walker Cook in Kimball, West Virginia. As a sophomore at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, he put his education on hold to join the Army Air Corps in 1942 and served as a bombadier on a B-24 Liberator. On his tenth mission, his plane was shot down and he was seriously injured when he had to bail out. He was captured and interned at Stalag Luft III in Poland, then in Nuremburg and Moosburg in Germany.
After the war, he completed his education at Virginia tech, the University of Tennessee, and the University of Alabama, taught at the University of Arkansas and the University of Alabama, then joined the faculty of Wake Forest College in 1957. He taught accounting at Wake Forest for thirty six years and even after retirement remained an avid supporter of Wake Forest football and basketball.
Mr. Cook was a member of the Beta Alpha Psi and Delta Sigma Pi professional fraternities and of the Alpha Tau Omega social fraternity. He was an active member of New Hope United Methodist Church, Kiwanis International, and the American Ex-Prisoners of War Organization. Seven months ago, in September 2009, he and his family traveled to Washington, DC, for an emotional visit to the World War II Memorial and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, among others.
He is survived by Rita Brown Cook, his wife of fifty two years; two sons Leon “Pete” Cook III of Greensboro and Gregory Brown Cook of Advance; and a daughter in law Tonya Carter Cook, of Advance.
Friends and family will visit on Wednesday, April 28th, from 6:00 to 8:00 PM at the Vogler Funeral Home Reynolda Chapel, 2951 Reynolda Road (336-722-6106). A Funeral Service celebrating his life, will be conducted on Thursday (April 29th) 11:00 AM at the New Hope United Methodist Church, 5125 Shattalon Drive, Winston Salem (336-924-2971) with Reverend Dr. Peter Taylor officiating. Burial, including the presentation to the family of the United State flag, will follow at the New Hope United Methodist Church Cemetery.
The family prefers, if you wish, Memorial Gifts to the New Hope United Methodist Church Building Fund, P.O. Box 110, Bethania, NC 27010.
Funeral arrangements are cared for by the Vogler Funeral Home, Reynolda Chapel, a Dignity Memorial provider.
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