- Date Of Birth: February 10, 1941
- Date Of Death: July 11, 2020
- State: Utah
To our father and mother – two of the sweetest people to grace the face of earth.
Our beloved husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, Jeryl McKay Marler and owner of infamous Ogden based Cook Roofing Company (and sometimes known as “Mr. Cook”) passed away July 11, 2020 of complications associated with Covid-19. He was born Feb. 10, 1941 in Logan, Utah to McKay P. and Blanche Fifield Marler. Jeryl grew up in Lewiston, Utah on the family’s dairy farm where (surely at their mother’s and little sister’s worry) he and his brothers raised all kinds of ruckus! The farm taught Jeryl the value of hard work and hard play. He graduated from North Cache High in 1959 and joined the U.S. Army Reserves.
Dad met his sweetheart, our beautiful mother, Karen Janette Walton, at a church dance in Ogden. Apparently, he was fairly decent at cuttin’ the rug! Within 3 months they were engaged. A week later Jeryl said, “When are we gonna do this?” Karen responded, “I don’t know!” To this he said back. “Well… are we gonna do this or aren’t we?!!!” This statement embodies our dad! He was truly a go-getter! Mom and Dad were married three months later – Aug. 23, 1963 in the Logan Temple. When life and work got hard, they worked even harder! Jeryl always said, “Just keep putting one foot in front of the other!” This attitude combined with constant prayer and love for each other brought them out on top! Mom and Dad loved each other, and we knew it! We will forever cherish their example.
Jeryl loved Bear Lake. Somehow Mom and Dad managed to take us there almost every weekend of every summer for a stay at the property. And of course, waterskiing! Dad love waterskiing! We will never forget Dad behind the boat, mom ready on the throttle, skis up, and his infamous call to “hit it!!” We can’t help but wonder if he yelled “hit it” when he was pulled to the other side. In 1997 Mom and Dad fulfilled their dream of building a family cabin on their property. Dad, thank you for all the Bear Lake memories!! And thank you for constantly sneaking mom away for your little trips to the cabin. Mom, there is nothing he loved more than being there with you. We know you wanted many more of those sweet getaways. Rest assured, there will be. Thank you for having the courage to let him go in those final days – he needed that. Your selfless example has helped us let him go and be at peace as well.
Dad was a member of the No. Ogden 9th Ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He didn’t like ties much but loved the gospel of Jesus Christ. He faithfully served in many church callings. He knew God answers prayers. Dad knelt in prayer with our mother every night. A habit, we understand, he established very early in life. He was a great example to us. Humble and kind, always giving God credit for everything he accomplished.
Jeryl bought Cook Roofing from his friend Dale Cook in 1974. He quit his job at Hill Air Force Base the same day. When he arrived home in Dale’s truck, Mom asked why. He excitedly replied, “I quit my job and bought Cook Roofing!” To this Mom began to cry. Due to Dad’s work ethic, the jobs started coming in. That was the beginning of him happily owning and operating Cook Roofing for the past 47 years. He would joke that he was always “Self UNemployed” and “Semi-Retired”! The Ogden area was his domain!! With his amazing crews (you know who you are) he roofed thousands of homes in our community. I’m sure many of you remember (even those of you that didn’t know him) his various trucks with the big Cook Roofing signs along the bed rails. Most recently the big bright red Dodge Ram! To his delight, he was still operating his business at 79 years old when he became ill just a few weeks ago. He even made a few calls from his hospital bed just like he did years prior when he suffered a mild heart attack (We have pictures to prove it!). For those of you that know him, you will see the honor and humor in this. He loved that business!! He was honest, generous, hard-working, dependable, and fair. His favorite thing about running the business was the people – the people – the people…. He truly loved people!! Jeryl was absolutely genuine! A “TRUE CLASSIC” as Mom would say! He always had a joke to tell and a knack of looking through the layers to truly see the real person underneath! Self-employment gave him the opportunity to spend quality time with his family. We know for a fact he would purposely “forget” certain job materials just so he could make extra trips to the roofing supply where his daughter worked. Don’t worry dad, the business will carry on! We will get out there and sell some more roofs!
Dad, you told everybody you would never retire. None of us believed you… But by-golly, you proved us all wrong!! Monday morning, we are going to load you up in that big ol’ red truck of yours and take you for one last ride through Ogden! Can’t wait!
Jeryl is survived by his wife Karen; children Darin (Roxann) Marler, Teasha (Mike) Lee, Melissa (Larry) Hadley, Anthony (Melissa) Marler, Vance (Holly) Marler; 16 beautiful grandchildren and 1 great-granddaughter. Also survived by his siblings, Loron W. (Cathy), Wayne F. (Melanie), Clair A. (JoAnn), Kristine Olsen (Nolan) and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents.
