Robert William Cooke

Robert William Cooke, 59, of Georgetown, Texas, passed away on November 5, 2014, in Austin, Texas. The baby of the Cooke siblings, he was born January 5, 1955, in Austin, Texas, to David Glenn Cooke, Jr. and Louise Cooke. A graduate of Lanier High School and St. Edwards University, he married Janet Abbott on August 13, 1977. They became the proud parents of two daughters, Rachel Louise and JoAnn Marie. Robert was a software engineer for many years, over 25 of them at IBM.

After his 19-year-old daughter Rachel went missing on January 10, 2002, while jogging near her Georgetown home, Robert and Janet became very active in missing persons’ causes. They held women’s self-defense classes all over Central Texas, and Robert helped search for many missing people. On the day Rachel disappeared, Robert made a promise to her that he would never stop looking for her, and he kept that promise. He gave presentations at missing persons conferences all over the country, often giving insight into the impact of a missing loved one on the victim’s family.

Robert is survived by daughter JoAnn (fiancé Clint Harris) and missing daughter Rachel, parents Glenn and Louise Cooke, sisters Elaine Hettenhausen and Diane Cooke (David Broll), brother David Cooke (Cay), ex-wife Janet, aunts, uncles, cousins, and numerous nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be held on Friday, November 7, 2014, from 4:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. at Cook-Walden Capital Parks, 14501 N. IH 35, Pflugerville, Texas, 78660. Services will be held on Saturday, November 8, 2014 at 1:00 p.m. at Faith Lutheran Church, 4010 Williams Dr., Georgetown, Texas, 78628. Robert asked that those who attend wear blue or red because, as he stated, those are “bright colors”.

In lieu of flowers, please consider honoring Robert with a donation to a missing persons organization, such as these three very dear to his heart: The CUE Center for Missing Persons, PO Box 12714, Wilmington, NC, 28405, Project Jason, PO Box 59054, Renton, WA, or texasequusearch.org.

Please visit Robert’s memorial at www.cookwaldencapitalparks.com.