John Gordon Cook

John Gordon Cook, 87, of Huntsville, Alabama, passed away on January 5, 2024 after a long and difficult struggle with dementia. John was predeceased by his parents, Homer and Lillian Cook, his older brother, Harry Cook, and granddaughter Jessica Patterson. He is survived by his loving wife of 50 years, Shirley, sister-in-law LaMerle Cook, stepsons David (Sarah) Patterson, Guy (Phella) Patterson, Keith Patterson and Barry (Krissie) Patterson in addition to grandchildren Jessie (Brett) Jones, Jordan Patterson, Chris (Christi) Patterson, Michael (Laura) Patterson, Amy Rimmer, Saige Patterson and Reese Patterson, along with 6 great grandchildren.

John was born on September 30, 1936 to Homer Cook and Lillian Mahone Cook in their home in Andalusia, Alabama. After he graduated from Andalusia High School in 1954, he went on to study at Auburn University, graduating in 1958 with a degree in Electrical Engineering. He then worked for Boeing before pursuing a Masters Degree from Texas Tech. Following that, he worked for several years in Cape Canaveral, Florida moving to Huntsville to work for NASA, eventually ending up with the Army Missile Command at the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, where he spend the bulk of his career.

John is celebrated in family lore for marrying Shirley and taking her, along with her 4 young boys (ages 6, 8, 11, and 14) into his home. He went from being a bachelor with 1 dog and 2 cats to being a family of 6 with 2 dogs and 2 cats overnight. Over many years he was seen at whatever activities the boys participated in, and later followed his grandchildren in their activities as well. Whether it was soccer, swimming, diving, band, lacrosse, or a host of other activities, he was often there supporting his family. When he felt one of his family members was wronged, he fiercely defended them.

John was a devoted Auburn man, and while none of his stepsons attended Auburn, he was quite proud that two of his grandsons, Chris and Michael both received engineering degrees from his alma mater.

Friends and family knew better than to argue facts with John. He had near perfect recall of events that happened many years earlier, whether it was the score and weather of a football game he attended or where the family camped on the way to the Grand Canyon. He once got out of a ticket for running a stop sign in Texas because he told the officer the last time he was there (10 years earlier) that there wasn’t a stop sign at that intersection. Fortunately the officer had been on duty there for some time and knew John was correct, so he just got a warning. After living a long life with such a great memory, his dementia was particularly difficult for all.

While John spent his career working on surface to air missiles and had a great understanding of how things fly, he had a fear of flying and avoided it whenever possible. When he finished an assignment in the Panama Canal Zone in 1973, instead of flying home for Christmas, he bought an old car and drove all the way back to Huntsville, a distance of over 3500 miles. He led multiple family camping trips to the Grand Canyon and other less distant locations. John and Shirley followed the gymnastics team at the University of Alabama where David coached with his wife Sarah. After retiring they did not miss a meet for over ten years, often driving long distances to places such as Seattle, Los Angeles, Minneapolis and State College as well as throughout the SEC.

Another thing John did not care for was doctors, and he avoided them whenever possible. The family was very fortunate that Guy is a physician and helped guide them through the difficult final 6 months of John’s life.

John loved working on cars and lamented the demise of ‘simple cars’ that he was capable of doing all of the repairs on his own. He was known to go into diatribes about newer cars needing a computer to be hooked up to a car to know what was wrong instead of just listening to figure it out. When his stepsons got their first cars, he tried his best to teach each of them how to change the oil and other simple tasks, along with more difficult tasks like replacing the rings in an engine. He also had a Triumph motorcycle that he loved to tinker with and ride, but Shirley forbade him from letting any of his stepsons ride with him.

Over his many years in Huntsville he was involved in Trinity United Methodist Church, and more recently at Aldersgate United Methodist Church, where he served on several church committees. After retiring, John spent several years tutoring young students that needed help in math at Rolling Hill Elementary School, buying each of his students a set of dominoes to help them learn to work with numbers in a fun way.

The family would like to thank the staff on 5 west and 7 main at St. Vincent’s Birmingham for the care provided during John’s long hospital stay.

Services will be held at Trinity United Methodist Church in Homewood, Alabama on Saturday, March 13 in a private ceremony for the family. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Aldersgate United Methodist Church, 12901 Bailey Cove Road SE, Huntsville, AL 35803, the Alzheimer's charity of your choice, or the St. Vincent’s of Birmingham Benevolent Fund.