Remembering Mike

Family man, loyal friend, and active community member are only a few of the words describing our community’s most recent loss of a good man. Mike Cook has always been a man behind the scenes in the community, offering his help to family, friends, and many strangers in his longtime dedication to the Meeker Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue, as well as his years working for the Sheriff’s Office. A reserved and quiet man, Mike was held in high regard by so many in Meeker. Stories about his soothing, yet professional presence each time he helped at accident scenes and medical emergencies will continue. It was not long after I moved here and was just getting to know Mike, that I experienced his care and concern firsthand. His voice telling me that I would be all right and the sight of his familiar face made all the difference at keeping me from panicking as I awoke after a serious car accident. “Don’t worry, I got your skis!” he reassured me as I had been babbling about my brand-new skis. He knew me well enough to be able to divert me.

I still think of those days we worked together at the Meeker Herald with great affection. Well-respected, honest, and caring are three more words that are appropriate. His dry wit led to hilarity and rowdy moments of laughter and turned a stressful “going to press day” much more tolerable. His last year was extremely tough after his ALS diagnosis, yet he was determined to keep on living his life the way he always had. He carried on, moved forward and continued to be a steady presence for his children and grandchildren. He was the quintessential family man.

The old saying “you got to get along, to keep along” always reminds me of Mike. He got along with everyone and made those of us who were not a member of the family so much more comfortable as we learned how to work together. Meeting that mid-week deadline was harder than it seemed, and some of the tasks I learned from him, as well as Big Jim and Jimmy, were so important. Patience was always required. I was not only a Nervous Nellie, I had been told time and again how much my attempts at doing new physical tasks reminded people of Lucy Ricardo. Mike was excellent at making me feel as if I could master new tasks. It was his steady presence that did the trick of calming me down as I tried to master the manual cutting and pasting skills long before putting the paper “to bed” became computerized.