Robert Laurence Cook passed away on March 26, 2016, at the age of 62. He resided in Thornton, CA for the past eleven years.  He was born in Pittsburgh, CA on March 3, 1954, and grew up in Pleasant Hill and Walnut Creek.                        Throughout his young life, Robert was an active member of St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in Pleasant Hill. He attended College Park High School where he met his future wife Laura. Rob and Laura married in 1975, three years after Rob graduated from College Park.  Following in his father’s footsteps, Robert began working in retail as a manager of Payless and K-Mart. In 1983 Robert began his final career as a Mechanic with Local 16 Heat and Frost Insulators until he retired in 2013. In October of 1981, Robert became a father to his son, Brian. He moved with his family to Manteca in 1983, after they bought their first home. In January of 1986, Robert welcomed his daughter, Susan, into the world. While in Manteca he was a charter member of the Manteca Presbyterian Church. In 2004, the family bought their current home and moved to Thornton, CA.     Robert was a kind man who loved to make people smile. Robert was a devoted family man who never missed an activity that his children or grandchildren were involved in. Some of his hobbies included collecting stamps and trading cards, and watching sports. Robert’s family would like to thank the doctors and medical staff of the Sutter Tracy Community Hospital for their compassionate effort to save his life.             
  Robert is survived by his wife, Laura Cook;  mother, Jacquelyn Cook; daughter and son-in-law, Susan and David Talcott; daughter-in-law, Vanessa Cook; grandsons, Brian Cook Jr., Gabriel Cook, and Nathaniel Talcott; brother and sister-in-law, John and Carol Cook; brothers-in-law and sister-in-law, Susan and John Hoyles, and Dan Ives; nieces and nephew, David Ives, Heather Hoyles, and Kayla Hoyles;  aunts and uncle, Jan and Robert Cantley, June Downing; and cousins, Susan and Kern Hunt.
   He was preceded in death by his father, Robert O. Cook and son, Brian William Cook.
   A Celebration of Life service will be held for Robert on Saturday, April 16, at 11:00 am at the Lodi Funeral Home, 725 S. Fairmont Ave, Lodi, CA with a reception to immediately follow at Harmony Wynelands, 9291 E. Harney Ln. Lodi, CA.  A guest book may be signed at www.lodifuneralhome.com where memories can be shared. 

Manteca (Calif.) Bulletin
Tuesday, April 12, 2016