Tom Cook

With deep sadness, the family of Tom Cook shares the news of his death after a brief illness. The descendant of Norwegian and German settler immigrants, Tom was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota to Honor and Fred Cook on January 29, 1942. He attended school there with his younger sister, Cathy, until his family joined the postwar exodus to warm, sunny California. They were among the first residents of the new planned community of Lakewood and later moved to burgeoning Orange County. Tom's family owned a successful lamp store in Costa Mesa, Land O' Lamps.

Tom graduated from Los Alamitos High School in 1960, attending Chapman College for two years before enlisting in the United States Navy during the Vietnam War. After duty on a minesweeper in the Gulf of Tonkin, Tom was discharged as an electronics technician and completed his mathematics degree at Fresno State. He married Jane Weersing upon his graduation. Tom and Jane moved to Anaheim and welcomed a daughter, Aimee.

At the time, the computer programming field was expanding dramatically, but there were as yet no universities offering formal training. So Tom parlayed his electronic and mathematics background into computer programming expertise, working in various aerospace companies in Orange County, and then New Jersey. These were the days of paper and mylar punch tape, processed by room-sized computers. Later, he moved to the Conrac Corporation, one of the companies that pioneered the first computer-controlled machine tools. Computerized medical equipment developed next, drawing Tom to United Technologies Corporation.

Tom retired shortly after marrying his second wife, Millicent Flisik, in 1992. Tom and Millicent lived in Huntington Beach for several years and eventually moved to live full-time in Fawnskin, CA, near Big Bear Lake. They renovated their vacation cabin there, turning it into a lovely, spacious home, where they hosted family and many friends.

Tom greatly enjoyed singing in the Orange Empire Barbershop Chorus (Fullerton chapter) over many years, while Millicent led the wives' auxiliary, the Orange Blossoms. Tom and Millicent were also active in the Big Bear community, volunteering with the Community Arts Theater Society (CATS) and the Big Bear Historical Society. Tom also volunteered at the Big Bear Solar Observatory, writing computer programs for the observatory equipment and providing tours of the observatory during the summertime. Tom and Millicent were members of the Bear Valley Center for Spiritual Enrichment and enjoyed an active social life.

Busily working through a long to-do list of projects until the very end, Tom passed away on November 17, 2024. Tom was preceded in death by his sister Cathy Finch, and his wife Millicent, whom he faithfully cared for in her final illness. He leaves his daughter Aimee Smith, son-in-law, Adam Smith, grandsons, Drew and Dean Smith, and many friends, including his former wife and good friend, Jane Cook.

Tom donated his body to the Loma Linda University Bodies for Science program. Always committed to doing good in the world, his gift will support medical education and research, benefitting generations to come. Tom's family has chosen to honor his memory with a memorial bench along the Big Bear Lake bike path, in a spot overlooking the lake and the observatory. Please stop by to enjoy a moment of quiet reflection and remembrance of Tom.