Gary Cook was born on a farm near Delphos, Kansas, a small town of 400. He was the oldest of three children. Although the family moved to Topeka when Gary was young, they returned regularly to Delphos to celebrate holidays and visit. 

Gary walked to grade school and junior high, played Monopoly with his family and was a member of the 1^st Presbyterian Church of Topeka. He remembers taking big summer road trips with his family, once all the way to Banff (Canada), Seattle and Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks. When in Yellowstone National Park, he remembers that the bears would hold up traffic, come right up to the cars begging for food and they thought nothing of ambling near the visitors.

Gary graduated from high school in Topeka and attended Washburn University, not far from his house. One summer while in college, he took a job at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park working in the bakery. He not only enjoyed the job and enjoyed living in Estes Park. This may have sparked his interest in cooking which benefited Montview years later.

During college, Gary worked part time in a local bank. After graduation from Washburn, he took a job selling insurance but quickly realized that a sales job was not for him. He returned to the local bank and worked in the operations/accounting office.  Having had a brief experience living in Colorado, in the mid- 60s, Gary decided to move to Colorado, found a job and in the evenings enrolled in a specialized school for banking in Denver. 

The wife of Gary’s supervisor worked with a co-worker who was single. The friends arranged a blind date for Gary to meet Sara Jones. Gary and Sara started dating and got married a couple of years later. Sara had graduated from college in Indiana and came to Denver to get her Masters in Social Work at DU. She worked for Denver County Social Services and was already a member of Montview. (In fact, Sara has been a member of Montview for over 50 years!) They married at Montview in December 1977. After getting married, they moved into Sara’s home where they raised their son, Eric, and still live today. Over the years, Gary and Sara enjoyed their neighborhood, watched Eric play on baseball teams and took summer vacations to Coronado, California to spend time with extended family and enjoy the beaches.

At Montview, Gary was an active member of the Catering Crew which, for years, cooked meals for Montview. This dedicated group of Montview members were very generous with their time and for about two years personally contributed their support for regular Sunday lunches for the unhoused in downtown Denver. So, Gary’s early experience baking up in Estes Park paid off. At Montview, Gary and Sara were instrumental in organizing and participating in an early young adult group. Later, they began attending the Wayfarers group of couples at Montview and have continued for over four decades. Gary enjoyed a long career in banking and an international engineering firm and decided to retire at 75 years old. Not one to sit around, he volunteered regularly answering phones in the Commons at Montview until Covid closed the building. 

A couple of events in Gary’s life that others may not know about is that in the summers he would return to help his grandfather on the farm. He received his Kansas driver’s license at the age of 14 and was immediately put to use. In spite of being a new driver, he regularly drove a 2-ton truck and hauled 200 bushels of wheat to the local grain elevator! On the farm was a gravel pit and the rocks were sold for road construction. While the workers were digging one year, they encountered buried bones! Later, they were identified as genuine dinosaur bones! Gary’s son still has them.

Their son, Eric, lives in Ft. Collins with his wife, Calley and two children, Sage and Mikaela. Eric works for the Ft. Collins Fire Department. Gary has two children from his first marriage: David and Diane. David and his wife, Young, live near Colorado Springs. Diane and her husband, Wes, were married at Montview and now live in Ft. Collins. They have three daughters, Allie, Lauren and Heidi. Gary has one great-grandson, Wesley, Allie’s son.

Gary and Sara have a table at a bay window in the kitchen that overlooks their backyard. They have non-stop entertainment from the visiting birds and squirrels that come for treats from the feeders. Neighborhood cats are regular visitors looking for a few pats of attention. Gary and Sara keep up with current events, family and friends, via email, even past Wayfarer friends who have moved away from Denver. Gary has always had an interest in old, US coins and has developed quite a collection. He and Sara have long been dedicated walkers and continue to walk around the local park every nice day they are able.

Gary and Sara are very appreciative of Montview’s streaming service which allows them to ‘attend’ church every Sunday. They follow the announcements and updates on the This Week at Montview and are very supportive of the local and international mission efforts that Montview supports. The Cooks give credit for their longevity to having a loving marriage for the past 47+ years, their own affectionate cat and a serene aquarium which, along with their appreciation of nature and daily walks, helps them maintain their good mental health and a positive outlook.   

– Submitted by Brooke Durland