John R. Cook

John R. Cook Aged 86, died on Thursday, September 25, 2009. Mr. Cook was born in St. Marys, Ohio, on December 17, 1922. He was one of six children. A twin brother, Tom, died in 1962. His older brother, George, a Circuit Court judge in Kent County, died in 1988. Mr. Cook was a resident of East Lansing for 58 years. A veteran of WWII, he served with the Signal Corps, most of the time in New Delhi, India. He received a BA in Speech and Theater, and an MA in English from the University of Michigan where he won two Avery Hopwood awards for playwriting in 1947. He was retired from the Michigan Department of Public Health where he was Director of Public Information for some 30 years. He was a volunteer for many years with the Talking Book program at MSU, the Michigan Red Cross, the Listening Ear program and the Medical Library at Ingham Regional Medical Center. Mr. Cook is survived by his wife, Justine, and two daughters, Kathy Cook of Chicago, Illinois and Jennifer Cook of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Details of the memorial service will be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in his memory to the American Cancer Society, 3100 West Rd., Bldg B-STE 100, East Lansing, MI 48823, or Hospice Advantage, 801 S. Waverly Rd., Lansing, MI 48917. The family is being served by Gorsline Runciman Funeral Homes, East Lansing. www.gorslineruncimanfuneralhomes.com