Daniel George Cook

1953 - 2014

Daniel George Cook

1953 - 2014

Daniel George Cook, born September 14, 1953, passed away peacefully at his home in Redding on August 16, 2014. He was 60 years old.

Dan was born to Elbert and Nelle Cook in Redding, the second of two children. His brother Tom passed away when Dan was a teenager. Dan was an active young man with many friends. He was a highly competitive swimmer during his years at Shasta High School. He loved Redding and took full advantage of its natural surroundings. Much of his time during his youth was often spent boating, fishing, hunting, and riding motorcycles with his friends and his father. Dan also loved SCUBA diving; he frequented the Barge Hole on the Sacramento River diving for sunken treasures and knickknacks. He always found something active to pique his interest.

Dan took a job working for his father at Cook Concrete when he was sixteen. It was there he learned the basics of operating heavy equipment. As he gained more experience over the years, he realized he had become pretty darn skilled, especially with a backhoe. When his father decided to sell the concrete business in the late 70's, Dan decided to start his own excavating company, Daniel G. Cook Industries.

Dan loved to contribute to his local community. In addition to his normal work duties, he regularly donated his time and excavating skills to various charities and community projects. The butterfly house at Turtle Bay, the swimming pools and parking lots at the YMCA, the Redding skate park, the gun range for peace officers, the playgrounds in Caldwell park, parts of the Sacramento River Trail, the tracks at Shasta and Bishop Quinn high schools, and several school and little league baseball fields, were all made possible in part from Dan's dirt and ground work. He did this out of the pure satisfaction he received from helping others using his God-given talents and leadership. He was always the first to lend a hand, and always made sure things were done right.

Dan married his beloved wife Nedra on the lucky day of October 10th, 2010. During their years together, they enjoyed riding their "his and hers" Harley-Davidsons and took various road trips, even riding across the entire U.S. one summer. They were members of local and national Harley groups and loved to go on rides with the groups, enter their bikes into the clubs' contests (which they frequently won), and looked forward to helping construct the group's floats for the annual Redding Christmas parade.

Dan and Nedra loved to work on their home projects, vacation, attend local shows and plays, host parties and barbecues for their many friends, attend church, and give back to their community through various charities and organizations. The Good News Rescue Mission, KIXE, Women's Refuge, Mule Deer Foundation, Missing in Action Project, Make a Wish Foundation, and Relay for Life are just a few of the organizations that Dan and Nedra regularly contributed to. You could also spot Dan on his jet boat every year setting up the nets for the Ducky Derby.

Dan's most favorite times were the ones spent near his family and friends. He was a dedicated father to his three children and would look for any opportunity to share their successes and photos with anyone, even strangers. One of his favorite "family" projects consisted of combining his love for motorcycles and family by getting them all involved in the restoration of his 1946 Indian Chief motorcycle. The project proved to be successful, as his bike took multiple first place awards at Kool April Nites and even made the cover of Biker Magazine with a proud-looking Dan in the inset. Being the outdoorsmen that he was, he loved to spend time with his family boating, riding ATV's and dirt bikes, river rafting, shooting, fishing, and jet skiing. He was a gregarious, friendly man who felt pure enjoyment seeing his loved ones and friends have a good time, and would always go above and beyond when it came to providing one.

Dan's giving spirit is carried on through his wife Nedra, his son Michael and daughter in-law Jeneil of Redding, his son Kenneth of San Francisco, his daughter Jessica of Los Angeles, and many friends and family too numerous to list but not forgotten.

Dan is reunited with his parents and his brother.

Internment services will be held at 12:00 PM at Mt. Shasta Memorial Park on Saturday, August 23rd, 2014 in Mt. Shasta.

Memorial services will be held at 12:00 PM at the Elks Lodge on Sunday, August 24th, 2014 in Redding.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the Missing in Action Project or a charity of your choice.

SELFLESSNESS GENEROSITY LEADERSHIP COMMUNITY COMPASSION FRIENDSHIP


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