Samuel Coombs Cooke

Samuel Coombs Cooke of Batesville, born March 10, 1929 to the late Samuel Coombs and Elsie Burmeister Cooke of Bowling Green, Kentucky, died on Thursday, November 21, 2013. He leaves his wife of 63 years, Kate Dunkin Cooke; four children and their spouses, Becky and Anthony Falkowski (Little Rock), Dr. Sam D. and Rita Cooke (Batesville), John and Cindy Cooke (Batesville), and Mary and Chris Boushelle (Fayetteville); 11 grandchildren and their spouses, Emily Halpern (Delray Beach, Florida), Jeff and Bethany Halpern (Crownsville, Maryland) and Dr. Ryan Halpern (Dover, Delaware), Allison and Dr. Byron Wilkes (Germantown, Tennessee), and Dr. Samuel and Lindsey Cooke (Fayetteville), Alex and Sara Cooke (Vilonia) and David Cooke (Fayetteville), and Jay, John, Katherine and Rebecca Boushelle (Fayetteville); three step-grandchildren, Alexandra and Alyssa Chunn and Preston Caldwell (all of Batesville); five great-grandchildren, Kyle and Collin Halpern and Dunkin, Charlotte and Lucy Wilkes. A brother, Ray B. Cooke, preceded him in death. He was a graduate of Tulsa University in geophysical engineering. He played basketball for both Western Kentucky University and Tulsa University and was a member of ATO fraternity. He married his college sweetheart and they lived in Montana, Wyoming, California, Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana while he worked as a geologist for Sunray DX Oil Company and Amerada Oil & Gas. After seven years he became part of a mining business, Silica Products Company, in Guion, Arkansas on the White River, owned by his mother-in-law, the late Mertie A. Harris. He later led the company as its president until he retired in 1988 when the company was sold. Sam designed and helped with the building of the Guion Methodist Church; was a member of the Lyon College Board of Trustees, interim Lyon College treasurer, and a member of the President's Council; a member of First Presbyterian Church in Batesville where he served in many offices including as an Elder and a Trustee; was a member of the Batesville School Board for eight years; was an original founder of the Batesville Utilities Commission; and was a founding board member of the Independence County EMS, now known as Vital Link. Sam said his three guiding principles in life were honor, duty and country. He enjoyed the simple pleasures of life… his wife's cooking, his weekly men's coffee group, crossword puzzles, Lyon College baseball, Kentucky history, learning about Civil War history, staying abreast of current events, old cowboy flicks, and keeping up with his children and grandchildren and all of their life experiences. He especially loved the Scottish bagpipes. The family would like to express its appreciation to the caregivers and Arkansas Hospice who completed the journey with him. A memorial service will be held at the First Presbyterian Church in Batesville on Wednesday, November 27, at 11 a.m. Arrangements are by Roller-Crouch Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to Lyon College, P.O. Box 2317, Batesville, Ark. 72501 and to First Presbyterian Church, 775 E. Boswell, Batesville, Ark. 72501 or to a charity of choice. Online guestbook: www.rollerfuneralhomes.com.