Obituary of Richard Paul Cook

Richard Paul Cook On Monday morning, August 23rd, 2021, Richard Cook joined his wife Joan Cook with our Lord after struggling with a long illness. He was 82 years old. He is at peace now with family and friends by his side. Richard was a liver transplant survivor stemming from liver cancer. He is survived by his daughter Jenna and two sons, Allen, and Daniel along with his brother Gregory and sister Gloria Shippers and two grandchildren, Matthew, and Amy. Richard Paul Cook was born in Lyons, NY on May 7th, 1939, to the parents of Willard Cook and Doris (Allen) Cook. He married and had 3 children. After graduating college with a Masters degree as a software engineer Richard worked at Boeing Aircraft in Seattle Washington, later moving back to NY and joining IBM in Owego, NY. There, he devoted his life to working on the Aerial Targets Program based at Holloman and Tyndall AFBs, where they flew the F-4 Phantom. Richard attempted to retire twice but the Aerial Targets Program would not let him because his mastery of his craft and his dedication to the team proved too hard to replace. Outside of work, Richard had many passions in his life. He loved listening to ABBA and classic country but one of his favorite groups was the Gaithers. Richard followed his alma mater's football team (Syracuse), always wishing they would do better (this is the year). He was also very generous, giving to many charities monthly. In his younger days every summer Richard and his family would pack up the pop-up camper and station wagon and go camping and fishing with relatives on the St. Lawrence River. Sometimes fishing trips on the seaway turned into secret "beer" runs across the river into Canada with his father-in-law. Richard made the best clam chowder, loved chili rellenos and clams but was always on the lookout for where he could get the next hotdog. Richard also loved to travel, woodworking, coin collecting, RC models, solving puzzles, listening to music, and watching golf on the weekend. He had a very strong faith in our Lord. He was a member of the Vestal United Methodist Church (UMC) where he was involved in many activities. Some of these included monthly bible study, preparing and serving monthly dinners for those in need at Endicott UMC, involved with prison ministries in PA, Emmaus Walk, Celebrate Recovery, active with the Food Pantry at the Park Terrace Community UMC, assisted with church BBQs and on and on. He enjoyed trips to the Amish country near Lancaster, Pa, and also going to the Gaithers homecoming events in Indianapolis, Indiana. He always enjoyed an engineering challenge. Richard was very creative working on many church projects over the years, including the oversight of the development and installation of a church steeple, construction of choir loft, planning of a kitchen island and other church related projects. He was a loving father and will be missed dearly by his family and anybody who had the honor of knowing him. Funeral services will be held Saturday September 18, 2021, 11 a.m. at the Vestal United Methodist Church 328 Main St. in Vestal NY. Relatives and friends are invited to call at the church from 10 a.m. until service time at 11. In lieu of flowers please consider a donation to your local animal shelter.