Grady Cook Sr.

Grady Cook, 91, died peacefully in his sleep on March 7, 2025, in Natchitoches, LA, from complications of COVID and stroke.

Grady was born in Florien, LA, on October 25, 1933, to Eddie Houston Cook and Exie Westbrook Cook. He graduated from high school in Rosepine, LA, where he met the love of his life, Tressie Lavaune Scarborough Cook. They were married 70 years.

Grady joined the Air Force in 1952 and became an expert Air Weapons Controller. A gifted leader, Grady taught at the Interceptor Weapons School at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida and served as a mentor to many younger officers over the years. He served in both the Korean and Vietnam wars, for which he received the Meritorious Service Medal. His training and tours of duty brought him to bases in eight states, Germany, Turkey, Korea, Japan, and Thailand.

After 23 years of military service, Grady retired as a Lieutenant Colonel and came back to Louisiana to live near his extended family on a farm south of Natchitoches. He built his own home there, and he and Tressie even did the meticulous masonry on their large fireplace.

Grady was an excellent gardener and orchardist. He shared his produce freely and helped Tressie can tomatoes, green beans, lima beans, purple hulls, and pears in season. Every year he would plant early, despite the risk of frost and having to plant again, trying to get a head start in the competition with his sister, Mary Ellen, who lived in south Texas, to be the first to get tomatoes and watermelons on the vine, and ultimately, the largest! He passed his love of gardening on to his grandchildren, who now have gardens of their own.

Grady kept up with many of his Air Force buddies over the years and enjoyed sharing jokes with them. In 1977, Grady joined his friend, Col. Deryl Sadler, to work for Lockheed in Saudi Arabia for two years, training the Royal Saudi Air Force ground radar troops.

After studying Industrial Arts at Northwestern State University, Grady started a thriving lawn equipment service and sales business, the “Power and Energy Service Company,” with his instructor and friend, Dr. Bill Dennis.

Grady served as his extended family’s handyman, always on call for myriad repairs and to help build sheds and other structures. He was always there for his grandchildren and mentored them and his nephews and grandnephews in both farming skills and building techniques.

He kept abreast of developing news and taught his son and grandsons how to play golf. A powerful presence and a kind soul, he was one of those rare individuals who speak volumes in a few words.

Grady held a deep faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and was an active member of Grace New Testament Baptist Church, in Natchitoches. He maintained its grounds for years and, for the last few years of his life, served there as a lay preacher. He was a man of prayer.

Grady was predeceased by his wife, Tressie Scarborough Cook; his brother, Van Houston Cook; his sisters Mildred Arceneaux, Reba Calhoun, Elouise Randall, Mary Ellen Hinze, and Martha Gibbs; and his grandson Everett Morgan. He is survived by his children, Lequita Johnson of Natchitoches, Cindy Morgan (Leslie) of NW Arkansas, and Grady Cook Jr. (Rhonda) of Dallas, TX; his grandchildren Chris Goldman, Laura Trosen (Chris), Rachel Zobeck (Mark), Stewart Morgan (RoShunna), Grady Cook III (Britney), and Dylan Johnson; his great grandchildren Audrey and Lydia Zobeck, Lewis, Chase, and Keziah Trosen, Rowan, Campbell, Landry, and Esther Cook, Amara Lea-Morgan, and Emersyn Brumfield Johnson; his brother Dr. Roy Cook; Tressie’s siblings, Ruble Scarborough and Doretha Bond; and many beloved nephews and nieces.

Grady’s nephews Edward Cook and Matthew Axsom will lead his funeral service at the Blanchard St. Denis Funeral Home in Natchitoches, LA, on Monday, March 17th, at 10:30 a.m., with visitation starting at 9 a.m. He will receive full military honors and be buried at the Northwest Louisiana Veterans Cemetery in Keithville, LA, at 1:30 p.m.

Chris Goldman, Stewart Morgan, Grady Cook III, Dylan Johnson, Chris Trosen, and Mark Zobeck will serve as pallbearers.

Grady’s family is deeply grateful for the prayers, calls, messages, food, and visits received over the past month. In lieu of flowers, those wishing to honor Grady’s memory may make donations to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.