Fred Cook Obituary

Name: Visitation for Fred Cook
Start: 2023-10-26T18:00:00.000Z
End: 2023-10-26T20:00:00.000Z
Location: Lamb-Roberts-Price Funeral Home

Fred Samuel Cook was born on June 14th 1962 in Gardner, KS to parents Gayle Eugene Cook and Rose Marie Newland Cook and passed away in the early hours of October 12th 2023 in his home in Lawrence, KS.

He also lived in Osage, Kansas when he was young where his mother worked as a school teacher and his father worked as a chiropractor. He was active in boy scouts and the debate team, loved woodworking and gardening and woke up early to deliver the newspapers around town in the morning. He graduated from Osage City High School in 1980 as salutatorian.

He attended the University of Kansas in Lawrence and earned a bachelor's degree in Computer Science in 1987. While he was at school he married Amy Sue Olson at Central United Methodist Church in Lawrence, KS on November 24th 1982. Fred welcomed five children, Samantha Sue (MunLai ) Cook Chong, Gardner, KS; Eric Eugene Cook, Lawrence, KS; David Samuel (Martika) Cook, Kansas City, KS; Isaac Benjamin Cook, Lawrence, KS; and Maxwell Paul Cook, Lawrence, KS. He also had several foster children throughout his life including Alexxus Martinez, Kansas City, KS. He was a dedicated father and husband who loved his family and was loved by his family. He spent his evenings reading stories to his children and teaching them about math, science, faith and God and his weekends teaching them to ride bikes, garden and making pancakes for them.

While he was in college he worked for the United States Geological Survey (1987-1990), after graduating from KU he worked on software for point of sale devices at ACI (1987-1990), wireless phone activation and configuration software development at GTE (1990) and network design at Sprint (1991-2007). He earned his master's degree in business administration in 1993 from Baker while working at Sprint. While working at Sprint Fred also patented 72 inventions and had many colleagues he enjoyed collaborating with and was fond of.

Later in life he was disabled and struggled greatly for many years always showing courage, bravery and kindness to others even when life was difficult for him.

Fred is preceded in death by his brother, Charles Robert Cook; and his parents, Rose Marie and Gayle Eugene Cook. Fred has two surviving siblings, Gaylene Rose Tunison, Austin, Texas; and Theodore Ray Cook, MD (Karolyn, MD), Spring Hill, Kansas. Fred's grandchildren are: Elijah Yi Chong , Gardner, KS; and Charlotte Xuan Ruo Chong , Gardner, KS.

Visitation will be at Lamb-Roberts-Price Funeral Home in Baldwin City, KS, on Thursday, October 26, 2023 from 6:00-8:00 pm. The funeral service will be at Ives Chapel United Methodist Church in Baldwin City, KS on Friday, October 27, 2023 at 10:30 am. Interment will be at the Sutton Cemetery 1201 N 300 Rd in Baldwin City, KS following the funeral.

Memorial contributions may be made to Ives Chapel, the United Methodist Church, the American Red Cross, or Baker University and sent in c/o the Lamb-Roberts-Price Funeral Home, P.O. Box 64, Baldwin City, KS 66006. Condolences may be sent to the family through www.lamb-roberts.com.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by Lawrence Journal-World on Oct. 25, 2023.

Memories and Condolences
for Fred Cook

2 Entries

Lynn Tunison

Planted Trees

Gaylene Tunison (Lynn)

October 20, 2023

Fred was always a very special brother. When he was still little enough to stand on a dining room chair till everyone was seated for dinner, Fred would be so delighted by Dad´s jokes that he would laugh till his face was red and he had to hold his sides. This made Dad sooooo happy!

As a youngster, Fred was fascinated by insects and liked to do his own artwork. I learned to ask and never guess what he was trying to draw, but his explanations were great. He was as ambidextrous as anyone I´ve ever met, which was very useful later on as he could barely use one arm the last few years.

When I graduated from high school and our mother graduated from college, Fred graduated from kindergarten. We went mostly separate ways till he was in college. With the folks living in Iowa, Fred and Amy provided a base for the family festivities in Kansas, or Nebraska for a time. No matter how recently they had moved or had a baby, they always made everyone feel welcome.

Meanwhile, Fred continued his computer science endeavors, often from home, pursuing interests and chains of thought that his company often didn´t appreciate . . . until they realized how great his ideas were. For instance, why not be able to log in to a computer and see your very own screen and activities? I´ve always suspected that this pursuit was prompted by having five children plus foster children trying to share one computer. Even scheduling each child equal time on the technology didn´t solve the problem of some children having to interrupt their game or leaving the equipment at the wrong spot for the next child to be able to find what they wanted.

By the time the MS and Lyme disease got to him, Fred had his name on 66 patents, and his negotiations with the company eventually taught them how valuable his ideas were. At one point, Fred said that he would have had his name on 100 patents if he had been able to work a year or two longer. He had started the 100, but someone else had to finish them. Fred was recognized as one of the top patent holders in the United States.

With his easy-going demeanor and desire to help others, few people realized how brilliant he was once he was less able to move and work. Fortunately Sprint helped him gain and maintain disability, knowing that his intellectual efforts would benefit the company as long as his name was on their roster.

Our conversations throughout COVID almost always included inquiries relating to health or technology. Fred was always trying to help other people, and his unique perspective was invaluable. He will be missed. Special thanks to his wife Amy who has helped him these many years.

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