Stephen Lucas Cook

Stephen Lucas Cook died on Monday, February 9, 2009, in Austin, Texas, at Hospice AustinÕs Christopher House. He was an ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A. Born on September 6, 1921, to Earnest Fleet and Katherine Camille Lucas Cook, in Texarkana, Arkansas, Steve was raised and educated there. His father was also from Texarkana, as was his grandfather, who served as a mayor of the city. Steve graduated from Arkansas College (now Lyon College) in Batesville, Arkansas, in 1942, then received his theological education at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Austin, Texas. While in seminary, he also completed coursework for a masterÕs degree in Greek and history at the University of Texas. He was commissioned as officer and chaplain in the U.S. Navy in May 1945, the same month that he was ordained as a minister of the Presbyterian Church, U.S., in Hot Springs, Arkansas. During his last year of seminary, Steve married Elizabeth (Bippy) Fonda Gribble, daughter of one of his seminary professors, Robert F. Gribble. Steve and Bippy were married by her father on November 29, 1944, in the seminary chapel. They celebrated 64 years of marriage this past November. During the course of his ministry, Steve accepted calls from Presbyterian congregations in Ballinger, TX; Hope, AR; Houston, TX; Batesville, AR; Longview, TX; and Lufkin, TX. During his tenure at First Presbyterian Church, Batesville, his alma mater, Arkansas College, conferred on him an honorary doctorate degree in recognition of his service to the college. Under his leadership at First Presbyterian Church, Longview (1962-1976), the session of that congregation voted to welcome women as elders and also to invite into membership the members of a black Presbyterian church which was being dissolved. First Church also served as parent congregation for a new church development in the city. Throughout his ministry he supported all areas of the denominationÕs work and was an active participant in the levels of church government. Steve Cook was honorably retired from New Covenant Presbytery, Houston, Texas, in 1983. Upon his retirement in 1983, Steve and Bippy moved to the Texas hill country, northwest of Austin. He served two Presbyterian congregations in the area as interim minister. Throughout his life, Steve enjoyed sports. While studying at the Seminary and at UT, he played every intramural sport offered at the university and was named top intramural athlete. He watched all sports on television, including the Australian Open the week before his death. Fishing was a favorite hobby for many years, whether floating the White River, wading the creeks in northeast Arkansas, or taking a boat out on Toledo Bend. Stephen Lucas Cook was preceded in death by his parents Fleet and Camille Lucas Cook, his sister Josephine Cook Beck, and brother Fleet Goode Cook. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Elizabeth (Bippy) Gribble Cook of Georgetown, TX, and his sister, Ellen Cook Littlefield of Richardson, TX. He is also survived by his four children and their families: Joyce Cook (and daughter Rose Cook Ogle), Stephen Lucas Cook, Jr., Lucia Cook Queen (and husband Michael Queen, daughter Sarah Queen Browning and son-in law Matthew Browning, daughter Joanna Hudson Queen), and Mary Cook Cameron (and husband Claud Cameron, sons Stephen, Scott, Alec). The family of Steve Cook is grateful for all of the assistance and support received during his illness - from the nurses and staff of Hospice Austin and Christopher House, from personal caregivers, from the staff and community of The Wesleyan at Estrella, and from many friends. A graveside service will be held at Bagdad Cemetery (FM 2243 and CR 279/Bagdad Road), Leander, TX, on Sunday, February 15, 2009, at 2 p.m. Arrangements through Beck Funeral Home, Cedar Park. If friends wish to make a donation in SteveÕs memory, the family suggests one of the following: Lyon College (formerly Arkansas College), P.O. Box 2317, Batesville, AR 72503; Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, 100 East 27th Street, Austin, TX 78705; Wesleyan Homes, P.O. Box 486, Georgetown, TX 78627; or Hospice Austin, 4107 Spicewood Springs Road, Suite 100, Austin, TX 78759.