WEBUTUCK — Brian Scott Cook, age 76, of Plattsburgh, New York, passed away peacefully at home on Sunday, June 9, 2024, after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.
Brian was born Oct. 3, 1947, in Sharon, Connecticut, to Helen and Robert Cook of Amenia.
An only child for the first 10 years of his life, Brian enjoyed many sports including high school soccer, archery, and skiing.
In later years, he liked to tell the story of how his father would race the train home in their car from the neighboring town of Wassaic, sparking a lifelong interest in railroads.
The family spent time in the summers at Augur Lake in the Adirondacks. In his teens, Brian was joined by siblings Kevin N. Cook, Judith A. Cook, and Gerry R. Cook.
He graduated from Webutuck High School in 1965, and from Syracuse University with a degree in business in 1969. While at Syracuse, he met wife Judy E. Cook in a snowball fight; they married St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church in Rochester, New York, on June 28, 1969.
Brian enlisted in the Coast Guard during the Vietnam War, and was stationed at Governors Island in New York City from 1969-1973. Son Paul F. Cook was born in New York in 1972. The family relocated to Rochester in 1973, where Brian joined the marketing department of Itek Corporation, a manufacturer of photographic equipment.
His second son, Jason R. Cook, was born in 1976 in Rochester. The young family spent many happy weeks at summer cabins in the Thousand Islands and in Vermont.
Itek was later acquired by A.B. Dick Company, and in 1990, rather than move to Chicago, Brian set out on a second career with Gould’s Pumps in Seneca Falls, New York, where he worked for 25 years. His marketing roles provided the opportunity to travel to Japan, Austria, and Italy.
In later years, Brian and Judy enjoyed traveling as a couple to England, France, Germany, Austria, and Italy, as well as within the United States.
Brian was involved in the Lutheran Church from the time of his marriage, first at St. Matthew’s and later at St. Mark Lutheran in West Henrietta, New York. He held many church leadership positions over time, including a year as interim lay minister at St. Mark, and most recently as President and Secretary of Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in Plattsburgh. Brian was also highly involved in the Boy Scouts of America, serving as Scoutmaster of Troop 7 in Henrietta and spending many of his summer vacation weeks with his sons and other scouts at Camp Gorton in Central New York. His lifelong hobbies were model trains, gardening, and genealogy. Brian worked on and off for 50 years on a model train layout of the Harlem Valley Railroad near his childhood home, and he enjoyed learning about railroads in other parts of the country such as his son Paul’s home in Colorado.
Brian and Judy relocated to a new home in Plattsburgh near son Jason in 2012, where Brian developed a large property by the Salmon River with gardens and walking paths.
Brian charted his family tree back into the Middle Ages, and he served as a genealogist for the Valcour Chapter of Sons of the American Revolution. He was also a member of the General Society of Mayflower Descendants, and the Descendants of the Founders of Ancient Windsor.
Brian was the author of a book of family history titled “Wessex Legacy: The Cook Family Story.” He also authored two small volumes on the history of St. Mark Lutheran Church in Henrietta, and the Presbyterian Church of Amenia.
Brian is survived by wife Judy Cook (Plattsburgh); sons Paul Cook (Lisa, Westminster, Colorado) and Jason Cook (Kelley, Plattsburgh); grandchildren Aaron Cook (Plattsburgh), Ruth Cook (Westminster, Colorado), Claire Cook (Plattsburgh), and Julia Cook (Westminster, Colorado); siblings Kevin Cook (New Paltz) and Judy Westfall (Doug, Millerton); and niece Alyssa Valerio (Michael, Wethersfield, Connecticut).
He was predeceased by his parents and brother Gerry Cook.
A memorial service will be held on Monday, July 22, 2024, at 11 a.m. at Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, 10 Adirondack Lane, Plattsburgh, N.Y.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, 10 Adirondack Lane, Plattsburgh NY 12901.
Arrangements are in the care of the Hamilton Funeral Home, 294 Mannix Road, Peru, (518) 643-9055. To make a floral purchase, offer an online condolence, share a symbolic gesture, or share a photo in memory of Brian Scott Cook please visit www.hamiltonfuneralhome.com
