Keating, Oregon
Morris George Cook, 82, of Keating, died Nov. 10, 2006, at his home surrounded by his family.
There will be a private service in his honor.
Morris was born on Goose Creek northeast of Keating on March 21, 1924, to Jesse Lewis Cook and Hazel Ruby Pennoyer Cook. When he was 2 years old, the family home on Lower Clover Creek burned.
The family moved in with his grandparents, Thomas and Cora Cook. Thomas homesteaded the Cook Ranch near Keating in 1900. Morris lived at the ranch the rest of his life.
Morris was a 1943 Baker High School graduate. Later that year, on Aug. 7, he married his high school sweetheart, Eva Ruth Wallace. They made their home here, and in 1957 bought the ranch from his parents where the couple raised their four children.
Morris loved the outdoors and the mountains. He had many talents and worked at different jobs during his life in addition to operating the ranch. He was a packer and guide for Boulder Park Resort for many years. His family enjoyed lots of vacations in the Eagle Mountains.
He broke horses, built hay bucks, worked for Cook & Emele, installed TV antennas, lambed and calved for neighbors, drove school bus and worked for the mining industries. Morris worked at any job he could to keep the family going.
Survivors include his wife of 63 years, Eva Cook; two daughters, Caren Stephens of Haines and Diana Woods of Baker City; one sister, Myrtle Colvard of Baker City; and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by a daughter, Ruth Evelyn Cook Scipper; and a son, Roger Lewis Cook.
Memorial contributions may be made to Heart and Home Hospice or Mountain States Tumor Institute through Gray’s West & Co. Pioneer Chapel, 1500 Dewey Ave., Baker City, OR 97814.
Used with permission from: Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, November 13, 2006
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor
