- Date Of Birth: November 24, 1936
- Date Of Death: July 30, 2018
- State: Michigan
After nearly 32 years of marriage to his beloved wife, Helen, Robert L. Cook, 81, of Scotts died July 30. Robert passed at Rose Arbor Hospice, where his wife had died six days before.
Robert was born and raised in Allegan. He served in the Marines between 1957-1960. He continued to support the Marines’ mission as commandant of the Kalamazoo Detachment of the Marine Corps League and by mentoring youth in the Young Marines of Kalamazoo. Robert helped create that city’s Rose Park Veteran’s Memorial.
He attended school in Allegan, at Culver (Ind.) Military Academy and Western Michigan University. He worked in the packaging industry for 58 years and started several businesses. He was co-founder of Arvco Container Corporation, from where he retired in 2003 as specialty packaging manager. He then formed his most recent business, Speciality Packaging, and worked there until his death. He promoted the packaging industry by mentoring and developing a scholarship endowment at Michigan State University School of Packaging.
He volunteered countless hours at the Veteran Affairs Medical Hospital, Meals on Wheels and Toys for Tots. He was past president of Jaycees, charter president of Kalamazoo Sunrise Rotary, longtime member of Kalamazoo Rotary Club and a member of Allegan Elks, Portage Eagles, Red Arrow VFW and Delton Moose. An avid golfer, Robert was a member of Indian Run Golf Club and Riverside Country Club.
He is survived by daughters Sally (Carl) Barber of Plainwell; Carrie (John) Hine of Wayland; Rhonda (Steve) Broekema of Schoolcraft; Patti (Scott) Sampley of Kalamazoo; and Robin (Brian) Wicker of St. Michael, Minn.; 12 grandchildren; many great-grandchildren and several beloved nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents Robert B. Cook and Donna (Pierce) Cook; sisters Barbara Jean Gilpin and Patricia Whitney; brothers-in-law, Dick Gilpin and George Whitney; and son-in-law Mike Irwin.
