Jack Robert Cook, 77, passed away on Tuesday, December 21, 2021, at Northern Colorado Medical Center in Greeley, CO.

Jack was born in Los Angeles, California on April 26, 1944, to Catharine Lee McCash and John Louis Buckner. He grew up all over the United States, hunting in Alaska, fishing in Texas, graduating in Kansas, playing drums for the United States Marine Corps in San Diego, and raising a family in Colorado.

He can truly by considered a Jack of all trades learning a variety of skills throughout his life. He was a percussion major at Kansas State, worked for the railroad in Denver, learned welding, took drafting classes at Front Range Community College, was skilled in wood working and home construction, and worked as an architect for the National Park Service for over thirty years on a variety of projects before retiring. He would always joke that he designed outhouses and park benches, but his contributions were significantly more important than that designing Visitor's Centers in several national parks on the east coast and restoring and preserving buildings in Glacier National Park. He loved history and was an avid reader of military history, biographies, and politics. He loved music and played the drums in the Queen City Jazz band, played the trumpet, sang in the local church choir, and picked the banjo. He had the pleasure of playing drums in the Marine Corps band during the Vietnam war. While in the Marines, he met his wife Kay on a blind date. That night, after the date was over, he went back to the barracks and told his fellow marines that he met the girl he was going to marry. True to his word, Jack married Kay less than a year later and they enjoyed fifty-seven years of marriage.

Jack had a deep love of country and sense of patriotism and honor throughout his whole life. He was immensely proud of his service in the military and the fact that he volunteered to serve instead of being drafted. His only regret with regard to his service was that he had to stay stateside while his brothers in arms were deployed to Vietnam.

During his retirement, he spent much of his time looking after his grandkids and going to auctions with his wife hunting for treasure, contributing to his collection of tools, pocket knives, cast iron, and altoid tins. He loved listening to the wind blow through the grasses of the Colorado plains leaving the faint scent of sagebrush in the air, or watching fields of sunflowers across the prairie chase the sun throughout the day. He genuinely believed in America, the beautiful.

His love for this country can only be surpassed by his love of family which was the most important thing in his life. He was a loving father, brother, grandfather, uncle, and cousin and always made time for his family. He made it a point to provide for each family member in a way that was unique to them.

Jack is survived by his wife, Kay Cook; his daughter Donna Frazier and Donna's five children, Audrey, Trevor, Caleb, Marc, and Luke and Audrey's daughter Autumn; his son David Cook and David's son Terrius; his daughter Kylee Cook and Kylee's daughters Sophia and Ione; his daughter Natalie Cook and her daughter Rosetta; and his daughter Katie Cook and her children Skylee, Traeger, Quade, Reagan, and Molly. He is also survived by his sisters Karol Johnson and Adelma Jo Stahl and their families.