David Cook

1928 - 2025

David Cook

November 11, 1928 - October 27, 2025

David Reed Cook

November 11, 1928 – October 27, 2025

David Reed Cook passed away on October 27, 2025, at the Mayo Clinic Health System hospital in Eau Claire, from complications after sustaining a fall at his home. He was 96 years old.

Born in Abington township in suburban Philadelphia, David graduated from Abington High School in 1946 and received a BA in English Literature from Boston University in 1950. After serving two years in the Marines, he returned to higher education, receiving an EdD in Psychology from Indiana University in 1957. He spent over 40 years as a university professor, specializing in the subject of marriage and family counselling, first teaching at Northeastern University in Boston and then from 1975 at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. He retired in 1992.

David was a leading researcher into the psychological topic of shame, and authored a formal, measurable Internalized Shame Scale which continues to be used by academics and practitioners around the world (available at https://minds.wisconsin.edu/handle/1793/89689).

David married Ann Carol Treadway in 1961. Following their divorce in 1980, David married his second wife, Anne Frantz-Cook, in December 1981. They were married for 32 years, until Anne's death in 2024.

David was deeply attached to First Congregational United Church of Christ (UCC), where he and Anne were married. David played an active role at the UCC as a church officer, choir member and lay preacher.

He was a lifelong performer. He loved to be on stage and especially loved to make people laugh. On arriving in Menomonie in 1975, he immediately joined the thriving amateur theater community at the town's historic Mabel Tainter Memorial Theater. Notable performances at the Mabel Tainter included Pirates of Penzance (the Major General), On Golden Pond (Norman Thayer), I Never Sang for My Father (Tom Garrison), The Music Man (Mayor Shinn), Harvey (Elwood P Dowd), The Sunshine Boys (Willie Clark), Noises Off (Freddie Fellowes) and his last major performance, the two-hander The Gin Game (Weller Martin).

David is survived by his three children: Carol Flannagan of Ann Arbor, Michigan; Susan Cook of La Crescent, Minnesota; and Stephen Cook of London, England; his three stepchildren: Kathy Garrity of Westfield, Indiana; Valerie Frantz of Elyria, Ohio; Andrew Frantz of Mount Pleasant, Michigan; as well as eleven grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

A memorial service is planned for 10:30 AM on Saturday, March 28, 2026. at the First Congregational United Church of Christ (UCC), 420 Wilson Ave, Menomonie, Wisconsin. Visitation will be from 9:30 AM until the time of the services.

Online condolences may be expressed at https://www.rhielfuneralhome.com/

Rhiel Funeral Home & Cremation Services of Menomonie is serving the family.