Teddy Cook

Teddy was so tough and resilient it came as a shock when he passed away on July 19th at the age of 95. Family was devotedly by his side during health challenges over the last months of his life.

Born November 24, 1929, less than a month after the stock market crash that started the Great Depression, his childhood was shaped by the hardships that many experienced in that era. From a young age he hustled and worked. He moved around the state and went to school in Rockaway and Welches. During WWII, when his mom Margie V. Cook worked in the shipyards and his dad Everett C. Cook was in the US Army, he raised chickens and sold eggs. He grew up hunting, fishing, gardening, and raising turkeys and rabbits.

He graduated from Gresham High School in 1948, then joined the Marines, serving from November 28, 1949 to February 27, 1953. He completed basic training in San Diego, graduated from the U.S. Naval Training Center in Great Lakes, Illinois as an Electronics Technician in September of 1950. He was stationed at the Marine Corps base in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, working as a Radar Technician. His years of service were a defining stage of his life, and he demonstrated many qualities of a Marine throughout his life – courage, endurance, integrity, dedication to duty, loyalty to the Corps – along with some drinking and swearing.

After returning to Oregon following his service in the Marines, he met and married Nina in 1954, then had 3 children in rapid succession, Matthew, Carol and Donna. Teddy was married to Nina until her passing in 2018, just one month short of 64 years.

He worked briefly in logging and in a sawmill, but at Nina's insistence that he find a less dangerous profession, he went to work for Pacific Telephone and Telegraph (later Pacific NW Bell) in 1956. He worked on the phone company's Electronic Switching Systems until his retirement in 1992. He had a lifetime membership in the Telephone Pioneers of America.

As a family, a station wagon and small trailer were the source of many adventures. The kids would all pile in the back of the station wagon to sleep, while Teddy set out before sunrise driving to camping destinations throughout the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia. An annual summer trip to Wallowa Lake, a trip shared with lifelong friends of Teddy and Nina, was a favorite vacation. The family went on hunting trips where the men would hunt deer, and the kids would collect giant pinecones and catch chipmunks. They'd go with friends to the Oregon coast for clamming and crabbing. Teddy participated with Matthew in the Boy Scouts.

One remarkable day, Teddy arrived home with a huge German Shephard puppy in the back of the station wagon. Three young children were as delighted as they had ever been and that puppy became a part of the family, willing to be bossed around by children who weighed half what she did when she grew to her full size. He was a hero that day, and on many others – when he fixed a bicycle or planned an outing or brought home a new station wagon or color TV after working months of overtime to earn the money.

After retirement, Teddy and his brother Russ volunteered as Campground Hosts in Oregon's state parks and campgrounds, spending months each year at either Ainsworth, Fort Stevens, or Champoeg. He was recognized many times for outstanding service, was host of the year in 2003, achieved his 8,000-hour volunteer pin, and fell just a few hours short of 10,000 hours of volunteering. Teddy treated everyone with dignity and respect, and he was happy to work alongside inmate work crews doing park maintenance.

He was known for his beautiful rose garden and abundant vegetable garden. He appreciated nature, especially birds, and loved to identify unusual birds with his binoculars and books. Teddy was so appreciative that his daughter Donna kept the bird feeders full and took special care to plant flowers and bushes on his patio that attracted birds and butterflies. At the end of life, he loved watching the hummingbirds on the feeder and delighted in the birds splashing in the birdbath.

Family held a special place in his heart. He was delighted with updates on the goings-on of his grandchildren Joel, Adam and Natalie, and his great-grandchildren MaKenzie, Zoe, Dylan and Gwyneth. Nothing lit up his face like seeing them come through the door.

Teddy had a generous spirt; his donations spanned decades, and he supported charities that protected the environment, served veterans, honored history, promoted nature conservation, preserved national parks, and helped feed local families. Teddy belonged to the Loyal Order of the Moose and Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, supporting their community and charity work. He belonged to the American Legion Portland Post #1 in Portland, where he volunteered in various capacities, served on the Executive Board of Directors, and donated wherever he saw a need.

A good time for Teddy was going down to the Legion and spending a Friday night with friends. He'd serve at a pancake breakfast there too. He also enjoyed meeting friends at the Lariat Lounge for a meal and a beer. For many years he enjoyed golfing; he earned several trophies, sometimes had his son Matthew caddy for him, and he was known to enjoy time on the '19 th hole' as well. He enjoyed sports – happily he lived long enough to see Damian Lillard return to the Portland Trail Blazers.

Teddy bravely faced the physical challenges at the end of his life. We can take solace in remembering him with this quote: 'I have passed the mountain peak and my soul is soaring in the firmament of complete and unbounded freedom; I am in comfort, I am in peace.' – Kahlil Gibran

Teddy was preceded in death by his wife Nina Cook, son Matthew Cook, brother Russ Cook, sister Judy Green, and three of his nephews. Teddy is survived by his sister Rose Kahnau, his daughters Carol Merwin of Astoria and Donna Forman of Troutdale, his sons-in-law Ralph Merwin and Mark Forman, his cherished grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews. Teddy's spirit lives in each of us and he will be greatly missed.