Personalized funerals & memorials

Cook Funeral & Cremation Services offers many options. We'll work with you and your family to create a personalized ceremony that deeply reflects your loved one's life. There are endless ways to personalize a service. Start by sharing the details that you'll always remember—the way her nose crinkled when she smiled, the way he sang in the car when his favorite songs came on. We'll take the time to get to know your special person and design a tribute like no other.

When you first meet with a funeral director or certified celebrant, we'll ask questions about your loved one: what he liked to do, what she cherished, how he thought about the world, how she liked to spend time. From there, we'll help you create a service that speaks to the unique life of your loved one, whether that's a traditional religious funeral or a contemporary and upbeat celebration of life.

Tell us if that special person was a hockey fan, a boating enthusiast, a champion gardener, a world traveler, a pet lover or a baker extraordinaire. We take the things that mattered to your loved one and weave them together to create a singular, heartfelt memorial. We're here to help remember the details through cherished traditions, favorite music, photos, flowers, a tribute video and more.

Whatever kind and size of service best suits you or your loved one, we can easily accommodate that. Cook Funeral & Cremation Services has multiple chapels for indoor services large and small and a flexible event space for catered gatherings. We are also happy to plan outdoor services. Our funeral planners will work with you to put together a personalized plan that considers your religion, culture, personal preferences and budget.

Cremation options

Not everyone knows that there are many cremation options. If you're interested in this increasingly common decision, the funeral home team can explain the different choices. From a simple cremation without a memorial service to a full funeral service before or after the cremation and a catered reception, we can help you understand cremation and will handle all of the arrangements.

We also offer cremation jewelry, which is a lovely way to keep a loved one close to your heart. Delivery of ashes can be made to your home by a member of our staff—it would be our honor—or the U.S. Postal Service.

Veterans services

When it comes to honoring veterans, our level of dedication and commitment is unrivaled. We go above and beyond to recognize and pay respect to the courageous men and women who risked their lives for their country. We truly believe that the men and women who answered our nation’s call embody the ideals Americans hold dear. Because they have proven their devotion to their fellow citizens and to a grateful nation, we provide them with respect and devotion in return.

We are committed to meaningful ceremonies for veterans and help their families by:

• Completing applications for all veterans’ benefits
• Confirming and coordinating any existing paid pre-plan funding benefits that may cover expenses deemed ineligible by the Veterans Administration
• Coordinating necessary documentation provided by family to request honors
• Coordinating with national or state veterans’ cemeteries

We offer a veterans package that includes the following:

• Military honors: flag folding and presentation, rifle salute, and Taps
• Military medal display
• Patriotic floral arrangement
• Headstone or marker with a free design consultation
• Complimentary oak flag case, courtesy of the Cook family
• Presidential Memorial Certificate

Colors of Honor Memorial

The Cook Family expresses their sincere gratitude to servicemen and -women past and present with the Colors of Honor Memorial. This unique military medals display includes the background information and symbolism of each military medal awarded to our soldiers, airmen and sailors from WWII to present. The Colors of Honor Memorial is open to the public weekdays, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m., and Saturday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

Green funerals, cremations and burials

We have several options available for an environmentally friendly funeral and burial. If your family chooses a public viewing, we use environmentally friendly chemicals for embalming. If you choose no viewing or minimal viewing, your loved one’s body will be preserved with dry ice.

Other ideas for a green funeral, cremation or burial:

• Cotton burial shroud
• Sea grass or willow casket
• Wooden casket
• Biodegradable urn
• Water burial urn
• Recycled paper for printed materials
• Recycled servingware at the reception
• A gravesite in a cemetery certified by the Green Burial Council

Planning ahead

At Cook Funeral & Cremation Services, we also recognize that funeral arrangements and associated expenses can be overwhelming. In addition to assisting during a time of immediate need, our funeral directors specialize in working with families to plan ahead. By preparing in advance, you provide a sense of relief, peace of mind and comfort for your loved ones while ensuring your wishes are met and your budget is maintained. A complimentary planning guide is also available with no obligation.

A permanent place of remembrance

When helping you plan a funeral, we consider every detail. One of those details is a lasting memorial. Whether you choose traditional burial or cremation for yourself or your loved one, a permanent place of remembrance can be important to your family and friends, and we can help you select a meaningful monument or marker. We will work with the cemetery of your choice to ensure that family and friends have a special place to go to reflect on cherished memories and commemorate occasions. Read more about markers and memorials.

Here for you

Thank you for considering Cook Funeral & Cremation Services for your funeral, cremation and burial needs. We are honored by the trust placed in us by the people of Grandville, and we strive to uphold our legacy. Please contact us if you need immediate assistance, wish to tour our funeral home or would simply like more information about our services. Arrangements can be made in person, by phone or by email. We're here to help.

History

Since 1957, three generations of Cooks have cared for the community. From Ron Cook Sr. and Johanne Cook, who built the foundation, to their sons, who took their vision further, to other Cook family members, who’ve serve in various capacities through the years, the company has always been a family effort.

From childhood dream to business venture

Ron Sr. knew in the eighth grade he wanted to be a mortician. When he was a junior at Wyoming Park High School, his dad died at the age of 47 from a heart attack. Ron was working for his dad that day at Kent Block and helped move the bricks for the Grandville Chapel of what is now Cook Funeral & Cremation Services. “That day I helped haul the bricks of my future business,” Ron Sr. recalled.

The following four summers, Ron Sr. worked as an apprentice at Gorsline Runciman Funeral Home in Lansing to see if the business felt right for him. He attended mortuary school at Wayne State University, graduating in 1954, and married his wife, Johanne, that same year. He volunteered for the Army, which took him to Kansas for two years. That’s when Ron Sr. and Johanne’s son Fred was born.

After his time in the service, Ron Sr., Johanne and Fred, moved into the Grandville Funeral Home, which Ron Sr. had purchased from Marv Langeland in September 1957. He was 23 years old; the local competition referred to him as “the kid.”

In his first year in business, Ron Sr. performed 36 funerals. His brothers, Harold and Don, and father-in-law, Herrick Gibson, helped him with funerals. He also started an ambulance service, which proved a good way for the community to get to know “the kid” and his work.

“We had no employees and no wages,” he recalled. “The first year, we went seven weeks without a funeral. I said to Johanne, ‘If we don’t get a call tonight, I am going to the hardware store and work with my brothers.’ That night we got a call!”

Eventually, Ron Sr. found himself needing help, especially during deer-hunting season, so he built the Byron Center Chapel in 1966 and hired Bruce and Norma Stegenga to live with the family for five years.

The business was growing

Ron Sr. prospered, and soon his funeral home needed more parking. "So I purchased the farm in Byron Center next to the Byron Center Chapel. Around 1970, I purchased VanderWheel’s house, which is Grandville’s parking lot. I also purchased Vander Kolk’s house (Dorie Meendering, our Grandville organist’s childhood home) for the garage space, the Fellowship Room to be used after funerals and the two apartments above. We purchased the Putan house next to the Fellowship Room for more parking. We also purchased the Fountain Motel and eventually built the office building on that site. We also purchased the old hardware that was next to the motel from Tres Groendyk (where the parking lot is at the Cook Memorial Chapel—Chicago Drive side). In 1973, we built the Jenison Chapel. That same year we discontinued the ambulance service due to increased regulations,” Ron Sr. recalled.

Along the way, Ron Sr. and Johanne had two more sons, Brad and Lee. Together with their brother, Fred, they helped in the family business by washing cars, setting up flowers, printing memorials on an offset press, performing door duty and doing yard work.

In 1982, Fred purchased Sullivan-Borr Funeral Chapel in Grand Rapids and eventually merged that chapel with Cook in 1992. Brad earned a mortuary science degree in 1983. After college, Lee came on board to help with the finances and oversee the pre-need department.

The third generation of caring professionals

In 1988, Ron Sr. retired. Fred, Brad and Lee continued their father’s business for years until Fred’s son, Ron Cook II, took over operations.

The family purchased Koops Funeral Chapel from Gary and Nettie Koops in 1997. Nettie is still a familiar face at the funeral home; you will often spot her helping with visitation refreshments. Fred and Ron Cook II purchased Archer Hampel Funeral Home from Larry Kubiak in 2012, and they changed the name to Kubiak-Cook Funeral Services.

In 2020, Cook Funeral & Cremation Services, Koops Funeral Chapel and Kubiak-Cook Funeral Services became Dignity Memorial^® providers, creating personalized funerals and memorials with attention to detail like no other.