Edward Frank Cook

Edward Frank Cook of Bellingham, WA, passed away peacefully in his home surrounded by family on September 5, 2021. He was born on February 20, 1937 in Spokane, WA to Elda (Brown) and William Cook and grew up in the Spokane area.
Ed graduated from Rodgers High School in Spokane in 1955 and then attended Eastern Washington University for four years. In 1959, he joined Standard Oil of California in a warehouse position in Spokane.
Meeting the love of his life at a Grange Dance in the summer of 1960, he convinced Gayle Balcom, also of Spokane, to give up her move to Alaska and marry him instead. With Gayle by his side, Ed continued with Standard Oil and then Chevron Asphalt over the next 20 years working for the company in Yakima, WA; Baker, OR; Wenatchee, WA; Vancouver, WA; Tucson, AZ; and Albuquerque, NM,
After retiring from Chevron in 1980, Ed returned to the Pacific Northwest to undertake a new endeavor to sell specialty asphalt products based in Portland, OR. He started Special Asphalt Products in 1982 where he and his partners ultimately grew the business to provide products to contractors in the northwestern United States.
Even though his work required him to travel a lot, Ed always found time to be active in his children’s and grandchildren’s activities. Aside from attending most sporting events/dance and theater productions; he volunteered as coach, team manager, umpire, line judge, swim timer, score keeper, stage hand, light operator, and general organizer.
He retired from Special Asphalt in 1997. In 2000 Ed and Gayle moved to Ocean Park, WA. Not able to just sit around, Ed volunteered at the Long Beach Visitor’s Center. During his time there, he oversaw the construction of the Visitor Bureau’s new facility. In 2003 he joined the Friends of Lewis and Clark and took a key role in the community’s celebration of the Lewis and Clark commemoration in 2005. Because of his leadership and hard work with this group, he was awarded the Washington State Historical Society’s Peace and Friendship Award. In addition, his commitment to the beach community earned him the 2010 Change for Good Award from the City of Long Beach.
In 2010 Ed moved to Bellingham, WA where he continued his volunteer work. Ed served as a weekly volunteer at the Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism-Visitor Center; President of the Village of Cordata Condo Association; and Annual YMCA Community Support Campaigner.
In addition to work and volunteering, Ed was an avid golfer, and huge sports fan-especially the Seahawks and Trailblazers; loved to travel the United States; and enjoyed playing cards with family and friends.
Ed was preceded in death by his daughter Shelly Cook in 1983, and daughters-in-law Terese Cook in 2010 and Lisa Cook in 2018. He is survived by his wife of 61 years Gayle; sons Greg and Gary Cook; daughter Lynda (John) Purdie; eight grandchildren, Joshua Cook, Travis Cook, Katelyn (Dave) Kelly, Amanda Cook, Jacob Cook, Michelle (Kolton) Griffiths, Brianna (Lane) Reddick and Marina Purdie; four great-grandchildren; his sister Patricia Clark and many extended family members.
Graveside Services will be held Saturday, October 23rd, 1:00pm at his final resting place Northwood Park Cemetery in Ridgefield, WA. A Celebration of Life will be held in Bellingham, WA on a later date to be determined. Family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Whatcom Family YMCA Scholarship Fund in Ed’s name: https://www.whatcomymca.org/donate-today . You may share your memories of Ed at www.westfordfuneralhome.com .