Walter Louis Cooks, husband of Jeanette M. Cooks, father of Jeffrey J. Cooks, father-in-Law to Cynthia Cooks (McDonald) and grandfather to Jaclyn and Jillian Cooks passed away peacefully on July 17, 2012. Walter was born in San Mateo on December 5th, 1914.
He was the third of five children of Oswald and Elizabeth Cooks. He graduated from San Mateo High School in 1932 and continued on to San Mateo Jr. College.
Walter met Jeanette Linck and they were married on August 4, 1945. They lived in Burlingame until moving to Gilroy for a short time and then to Morgan Hill. Walter worked at Air-O-Fan Products in Gilroy as an accountant for 23 years.
After retiring in 1980, they moved to Weimar, CA. Returning to San Martin in 2003, they moved onto the property with their son and granddaughters. After losing his wife Jean in 2003, Walter started spending more time outside and enjoyed the wonders around him. This along with his frequent talks with Cindy allowed him to realize that he wanted to accept Christ as his Savior and was baptized last year.
Walter loved basketball especially the Colfax Lady Falcons. He attended almost every single game along with his brother-in-law Wally Linck, Rich Calhoun and Hal Hicks for over two decades. They were known as the “Above the Rim Gang” because of their choice of seats.
Walter celebrated his 90th birthday with a surprise party at center court after an alumni game in Colfax.
Walter and Jean lived a very natural lifestyle. They grew a lot of their own fruits and vegetables on their property in Morgan Hill. Even with all that organic living Walter loved strawberry ice cream. He enjoyed it up and until the very last day of his 97 1/2 year old life.
Private services under the direction of Habing Family Funeral Home have been held. Celebration receptions will be held locally and in the Auburn/Colfax area soon.
Online condolences at habingfamilyfuneralhome.com
