William H. Cook

Dr. William H. (Bill) Cook passed from this earth to his heavenly home with Jesus in the early hours of January 4, 2024. He was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, to Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Lee (Jamie) Cook. He trusted Christ as his Lord and Savior and was born again at 8 years old. After high school, he attended Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, for two years, before transferring to Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas, where he was Student Body President during his senior year. He received his Divinity and Doctor of Theology degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.

Bill’s life began on his dad’s dairy farm, where at age 5 he learned to milk cows and work hard. He was the youngest of seven children, six boys and one girl, Charlotte. He was always extremely proud of all of his older brothers. Through the years, as they grew up and married, there were many Christmases when the next generation had fun playing on that land where the dairy farm had been.

Known as Billy in his younger years, he was also known for his love of learning and speaking. In third grade, he said he and another boy were talking a lot and not listening to the teacher, and the other boy got in trouble. This past year, Bill told one of his daughters that he was actually the one doing the most talking! God used this “gift of speaking” in his life, however. He won an oratorical contest in the 8th grade, and travelled to Birmingham, Alabama, to compete with seven other students from around the U.S. When he was in college, he and his friends hitch-hiked around Texas and Arkansas, leading youth and church revivals.

Bill began pastoring at Riverside Mission in Arkansas when he was a sophomore in college. He worked at Ridgecrest Baptist Camp in North Carolina for two summers, and went on a mission trip to Alaska, where he worked on a salmon fishing boat. Even though he didn’t have the money to go to Alaska and these other places, God always provided, many times through the gifts of others. Bill and Rachel were givers; he always said that the one time you could give was while you were still on this earth.

Dr. Cook loved adventure and travel. He preached in Japan, the jungles of Brazil, in many countries in Africa, India, Hong Kong, Spain, and London, to name a few. He and Rachel took groups to Israel, went to L’Abri, Switzerland, and travelled all over the U.S. They loved the beach, and went on a fun trip together to Cancun.

In addition to his family and extended family, he and Rachel loved the people in the churches where he served as pastor. He was privileged to serve as lead pastor at Live Oak Baptist Church, Gatesville, Texas; First Baptist Church, Harrison, Arkansas; First Baptist Church, Levelland, Texas; and First Baptist Church, Bartlesville, Oklahoma. In addition to pastoring in Levelland, he also taught classes at South Plains College. During his time in Oklahoma, he served as president of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma for two years. After 20 years in Oklahoma, he returned to Arkansas to serve as Vice President of Development at Ouachita Baptist University, where he also taught New Testament and preaching. He wrote numerous articles for Christian magazines and ministerial journals, as well as his best-selling book, Success Motivation, and the Scriptures.

Dr. Cook is survived by his children and their spouses: Camille Cook Minor (Rod), Dr. William Craig Cook (Ann), and Pamela Cook Moorhead (Jim); his grandchildren: Jordan & Kristi Minor, Meredith & Robert Redfearn, Austin & Lauren Minor, Molly & Nam Nguyen, Jake & Julia Moorhead, Maddy & Davis Brock, Emilee & Cole Minnich, Natalee & Chris Moore, Hannah Cook, and Jenny Cook; and his 14 great-grandchildren: Caroline, Nora, Annabelle, Hadley, Nolan, Moses, Luke, Nash, Joshua, Ford, Charlotte, Lydia, Oakley, and Harlow. Also surviving him is his older brother, Dawson Cook of Little Rock, his cousin Joy Reynolds, and numerous nephews and nieces whom he loved very much.

Bill was preceded in death by his loving wife of 68 years, Rachel Lee Quattlebaum Cook. They met at Ouachita, then attended SWBTS at the same time, which is where they got engaged. They were married at First Baptist Church, Searcy, Arkansas. They prayed and read the Bible together every day. Rachel supported Bill in all of his ministries and his adventures. In their 80’s, Bill did jail ministry and Rachel started a women’s prayer ministry. They were indeed a team!

He was also preceded in death by his sister Charlotte, and his brothers Edwin, Raymond, Harold, and Paul.

Our family would like to thank the staff at Lakeline Oaks Retirement Community, especially the managers, Kenny & Marilou Ernst, for their kindness to Dr. Cook and our whole family. Bill enjoyed living there, never wanting to miss the exercise classes, bean bag baseball, and the church service. We would also like to thank his caregivers, Alicia, Angela, and Flor, as well as others who cared for him during his time of need.

A celebration of his life will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday, January 14, at Anderson Mill Baptist Church. Burial will be at White Rock Cemetery in Bee Cave, Texas, on Saturday, January 13.

If you would like to donate to a charity in Dr. Cook’s name, please consider one of these:

1. Child Freedom Coalition—childfreedom.org/giving

2. Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he got his theological degree—SWBTS.edu/give

3. International Mission Board, where he served as a board member for a couple of years-- IMB.org/give

4. Gideons.org/give

Or, if you prefer, you may send a check to:

AMBC (Anderson Mill Baptist Church)

10633 Lake Creek Pkwy

Austin, TX 78750

Or go online at ambcaustin.org. If you specify what organization you would like it to go to, in honor of Dr. Bill Cook, the church will send it to that organization.