Robert Eugene Cook, 95, of Peachtree City, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, June 7, 2017.
He is survived by his wife of 71 years, Oleita Brooks Cook; his daughter, Nancy and her husband Robert Briand; his daughter, Janet and her husband John Cain; four grandchildren, Chelyn, Bryan, Kevin & Daniel; seven great-grandchildren; and many close friends.
Born the fourth son of Walter and Ruth Cook in Pratt, Kansas, Bob attended local schools and Pratt Junior College before he volunteered for military service during World War II. Earning the rank of Major in the Marine Corps, he served as pilot instructor in Pensacola, Fla. where he met Oleita. During the Korean War he flew bombing runs including one in which he guided a wingman who had been blinded by shrapnel to successfully land his plane.
After his military service he worked for the Federal Aviation Administration monitoring and supervising commercial airline pilots, traveling to 29 different countries over the course of his career, and retiring as a principal to Delta Airlines. In September of 1962, in response to the violence following the integration of the University of Mississippi, he helped transport federal marshals into, and wounded individuals out of Oxford, Miss. For his service, he received a letter of gratitude from then Attorney General, Robert Kennedy.
One of Bob’s greatest passions was the game of golf, playing par golf for many years. He was a longtime member of the Pensacola Country Club as well as president of the Men’s Golf Association at the Perdido Bay Country Club. He was also a lifelong Methodist and served as the treasurer for the Perdido Bay United Methodist Church.
He will be remembered for the example he set for how to lead a kind, grateful, and dignified life and will forever serve as a role model of how to be a husband, father, and grandfather.
A memorial service will be held at a later date.
