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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of William
4"Bill" Alfred Cook, formerly of Canton, who passed away on
5April 15, 2011; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Bill Cook was born January 27, 1931, to George
7Cook and Cleo DeLong Orndorff Cook of Mattoon; he was born
8during the hard-luck years of the Great Depression to a father
9who sold magazine subscriptions and insurance policies to
10farmers, but eventually took out a bank loan and bought two
11grain elevators to trade grain on the Chicago Board of Trade;
12and
 
13    WHEREAS, Bill Cook grew up in Canton, where he went to
14public high school and after graduation attended Northwestern
15University, where he drove a cab to help pay off tuition loans;
16with an unbridled drive toward achievement, Bill Cook launched
17a company with partners to manufacture and market disposable
18hypodermic needles; and
 
19    WHEREAS, When Bill Cook severed his association with a
20Chicago company, Bill and his wife, Gayle, moved to
21Bloomington, Indiana, to create a new firm, Cook Inc.; by
22moving past setbacks and industry competition, his company grew

 

 

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1to become the world's largest privately owned medical device
2company; and
 
3    WHEREAS, In addition to growing their medical device
4company, he and his wife became revered leaders of the American
5historical restoration movement, personally renovating dozens
6of historic but dilapidated buildings, a passion that he would
7later bring to his hometown of Canton; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Besides founding a company employing more than
910,000 people worldwide producing and marketing minimally
10invasive medical devices, he would also go on to own a
11world-renowned drum and bugle corps, the Star of Indiana, to
12own a European championship basketball team, and to produce the
13Tony and Emmy Award winning musical Blast; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Bill Cook, who became a billionaire through his
15company, made it his company's mission to put patients first,
16and that philosophy served the company well and fueled growth
17for nearly a half century; the company, bearing his name, was
18simply a means to an end for his generous philanthropic work
19throughout the Midwest; and
 
20    WHEREAS, Bill Cook helped to revive industry in his
21hometown of Canton; Bill spent a great deal of time in Canton,
22especially during the last decade of his life; in Canton, Bill

 

 

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1built a factory, bought and renovated the Fulton Square, was
2constructing a hotel, and purchased the former Lewis Drug
3Emporium, now a Sweet Shoppe with soda fountains similar to the
4fountains that were there when he was a kid growing up in
5Canton; and
 
6    WHEREAS, His service to his community and to the Midwest
7were not without recognition; he served as an honorary Speaker
8of the Indiana House of Representatives and was named the
9Indiana Chamber of Commerce Business Man of the Year in 1999;
10he received numerous awards for community service and historic
11preservation, business and productivity; and the City of Canton
12twice honored him for his restoration of thousands of trees
13after a tornado devastated the town; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Bill Cook's legacy as a philanthropist throughout
15the Midwest will serve as a permanent reminder of community
16stewardship and corporate responsibility; and
 
17    WHEREAS, William Cook is survived by his wife, Gayle Cook,
18and his son, Carl Cook; therefore, be it
 
19    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
20NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
21we mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of
22William Alfred Cook; and be it further
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
2presented to the family of William "Bill" Cook as an expression
3of our sympathy and esteem for his life and career.