Ted W Cooke

Ted William Cooke, 76, of Vermilion Ohio, fell asleep in death on Thursday morning January 18, 2024, at Stein Hospice Care in Sandusky Ohio with family with him. Ted was born July 16, 1947, in Lakewood Ohio to William and Shirley (MacKeigan) Cooke and was the eldest of four. After graduating from Westlake High School, he went on to pursue a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Miami and graduated in 1969. That same year he started his family by marrying his former wife of 14 years, Daryle (Phillips) Cooke, and having three children, Nathan, Cheryl, and Aaron, whom he loved very, very much and spent whatever time he possibly could with them. To explain exactly what my dad did for his career would require me to have his kind of intellect, and let’s just say that may have skipped a generation. He was a very smart man with a great sense of humor and always wanting to laugh with a smile that made you smile. But in short, dad went on to live and work in Iowa and Vermont over the years before returning to Ohio in 1980. For all we really knew dad could have worked for the CIA with how much he had to travel for work, but he told us he worked for Union Carbide, Rohm and Haas, and Southwest Engineers building and making connections with all those he met over the years and always making time for his family despite all the travel. On January 4, 1997, he married his wife Kathryn “Kathy” (Gossett-Mayer) Cooke and were happily married and just celebrated their 27th anniversary (he said it felt like 27 minutes). We happily acquired a “bonus family” when dad married Kathy with her children Ronnie, Brandy, Scott, and Brad, and they loved him so much because they always felt his amazing love which they will never forget due to how dad was always respectful and kind in every way to them. Ted was baptized as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses in 1986 and as a faithful member of that worldwide congregation that he loved being a part of, he enjoyed sharing bible truths and the hope he had for the future (Rev 21:4) with whomever he could so much that he and Kathy dedicated much of their time together encouraging others with the good news from the bible. He liked working with his hands and volunteered the masonry skills he learned from his father to build Kingdom Halls around the area with many friends. Dad was loved and friends with many. He was often referred to as “Uncle Ted” by many who knew him when he attended the Columbia Hills congregation due to the overwhelming contagious love from his nephews and niece (Jerrad, Jason, Justin, Jeremy, and Amy Jakubisin). Dad also loved traveling, especially with his family. He loved taking his kids to all kinds of new places for vacations in the summer and in the winter to go skiing. He enjoyed many activities like motorcycles, the outdoors, camping, hiking, golf and sharing those moments with his family. He enjoyed planting trees and working in the yard as much as he could. He enjoyed going to the movies at the theatre and sometimes calling into school to get his children out so they could see one with him. He loved Cleveland sports, especially baseball and the Cleveland Indians and loved teaching and sharing his knowledge of the game. He went to so many games and visited so many stadiums, probably almost all in the country, and many friends now have those memories of him taking them to a game. When he went to the stadium, he would bring a large FM radio so he could listen to the announcers calling the plays on the radio while watching the game and the people sitting around him always asked if he could turn it up so they could listen to. He will be severely missed. Ted was a great man, husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, cousin, and friend to many. He is survived by his wife Kathy Cooke, his children Nathan Cooke, Cheryl (Robert) Madak, and Aaron (Adriana) Cooke; “Bonus” children, Ronnie (Stacey) Mayer, Brandy Mayer, Scott Mayer, and Brad (Liz) Mayer; grandchildren, Finnegan, Weston, Tristan, Thorton, Evelyn and Madelyn; brother, James (Jan) Cooke; sister, Janet (Dave) Leise and their children; brother-in-law, Paul Jakubisin and his children. He was proceeded in death by his parents Bill and Shirley Cooke, and his sister Barbara Jakubisin. A memorial talk will be held at 3:00 pm on February 10, 2024, at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses 24000 Royalton Rd, Columbia Station, OH 44028 and will be shown over Zoom for those unable to attend. For details for Zoom connection please reach out to a family member. In lieu of flowers, Ted would have liked donations to go to the “Worldwide Work” of Jehovah’s Witnesses at donate.jw.org which can then be used in various ways and to help as “disaster relief” for many.

Ted W Cooke

July 16, 1947 - January 18, 2024