David Charles Cooke Sr.

David was living with his wife Margaret at Avenir Memory Care in Fayetteville, AR. He was born in

Hempstead, Texas to William Howth and Lillian Dewey Cooke, the sixth of their seven children. He

had two older brothers, Robert and Earl Cooke and four sisters; Norma, Grace, Janet and Sarah.

David attended Reagan High School in Houston, Texas. He joined the Navy and left for boot camp

before his graduation. His mother walked in his place to receive his diploma. He served his country in

the Navy as an aviation mechanic and was honorably discharged from the Navy in September of 1947.

Upon his return to Houston, he met and married Margaret Love on June 29, 1949. They made Houston

their home and became the proud parents of two sons. David was an avid supporter of the boys

activities. He taught Jerry batting skills and coached David, Jr in baseball.

David had a number of job experiences before settling on Ethyl Corporation. He retired January 1,

1990, as a shop foreman, after 26 years of employment.

David had a deep faith in God that showed in all aspects of his life. He not only taught God's word, he

lived it. He was a member of the Church of Christ where he served as an Elder at the North Houston

and Spring congregations.

After his retirement David and Margaret moved to Spring and then Huntsville, Texas. They bought a

small farm in Bedias, Texas where David returned to his roots and enjoyed farming. The farm also

gave him the space to rebuild a small airplane that he used to fly his grandchildren in for visits.

David had a love of flying. From his youth; his service in Navy Flying Corps; his bush pilot days in

the oil field; he flew until he couldn’t anymore and never stopped thinking about it even then. His

many skills beyond flying included artistry beyond the metal work of his job, simply ‘knowing” how to

make things work when they didn’t want to, understanding sports he couldn’t even play, and grasping

the many difficult lessons of the Bible and making them part of his life.

Even after his strokes that should have waylaid him, and heart attacks that should have killed him, he

simply saw each adversity as just another adventure and an opportunity to learn new things. He never

stopped learning and somehow passed that hunger for knowledge to his sons and most everybody he

came in contact with. He lost much because of his health issues, but, to him, he gained as much as he

lost. He was the epitome of “he went about doing good”. He will be missed by those who knew him.

David is survived by his wife of 69 years, Margaret. Their two sons: Jerry Cooke and his wife Susan of

Lockhart, Texas. David Cooke, Jr and his wife, Jana of Springdale, Arkansas. He left five

grandchildren: Alex Cooke, Alyssa Cooke, Christopher Cooke, David Cooke, III and Clayton Cooke.

He also had six great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, his two brothers and two

sisters. David's surviving sisters are Janet Adams and Sarah Hubble.

Funeral Services will be January 4, 2019 at the Huntsville Church of Christ, Huntsville, TX. There will

be a viewing at 10:00 am and the funeral service at 11:00 am. There will be a Military service at the

Brookside Cemetary in Houston at 2:00 pm.