Thomas Cook ’67

Thomas Michael Cook age 72, of Cascade, Michigan, joined his parents in heaven peacefully Wednesday morning, January 24, 2018 after a nine-month battle with brain cancer. He was a 1963 graduate of Grand Rapids Christian High and received his BA from Hope College in Holland, Michigan in 1967. While at Hope he enjoyed playing sports and was a member of the Cosmopolitan Fraternity. Upon graduation from college, Tom joined the U.S. Air Force and served four years at numerous posts around the world. When his active duty commitment ended, he joined the Air National Guard, and was active until 1988. He retired at the rank of Lt. Colonel of the 127th Wing, Air Mobility Command, Selfridge Air National Guard Base. In addition to serving our country, Tom owned and operated the dealership he started, Car Barn (later renamed the Go Dealer Group), selling Porsche, Audi, Mazda, Nissan, Acura, and Subaru automobiles. During his tenure at Car Barn he decided to obtain an accounting degree and received a 4.0 GPA from Davenport University. After a successful career in the automotive sector, Tom acquired Al & Bob’s Sports where he could be more closely connected with his true passion of hunting and fishing. Over the years he enjoyed membership of numerous fishing clubs and was able to explore new and exciting areas of our world to fish. Tom was also active in our community, most recently as Chairman of the Peter C. & Emajean Cook Foundation, and serving on the boards of Freedom Alliance, Grand Rapids AMBUCS, the Southeast YMCA, the Michigan Crossroads Council of the Boy Scouts of America, and many others. Tom was also generous with his time and could be found ministering to inmates with Inside Prison Ministries or teaching children how to fish with Lifeline Youth and Family Services’ “Fish with the Pro’s for Kids” events. He was very active at Immanuel Reformed Church, serving numerous terms as Elder and Deacon. Tom is survived by his high-school girlfriend and wife of almost 50 years, Marcia, son Ryan (Jessica) Cook, daughter Kristen (Mike) Herweyer, four grandchildren, Alex Cook, Olivia Cook, Abigail Herweyer and Grace Herweyer, his brother Steve (Betty) Cook and numerous relatives and friends.