August Cook's Obituary
A.J. Cook, 84, passed away April 20, 2011. A.J. grew up in Hondo, Texas. He became an eagle scout in 1942 and joined the Army after graduation from Hondo High School in 1944. He was on a ship headed for the invasion of Japan when the first atomic bombs were dropped. He visited Hiroshima and described the horror of seeing the people who were devastatingly injured from the bomb. He served in the Philippines and General MacArthur’s headquarters in occupied Japan. He was a staff sergeant when discharged in 1946. He received a B.S. degree from Trinity University in San Antonio, a bachelor of business administration degree from the University of Texas in Austin and a law degree from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio. He was a CPA and practiced tax accounting with the accounting firm Ernst and Young in San Antonio, TX. In 1969, he moved to the Memphis office of Ernst and Young to become partner in charge of tax services. After working with them for 24 years, he retired on September 30, 1984 and made a career change to practice tax law. He became partner in charge of the tax department of the Memphis office of Wildman, Harrold, Allen, Dixon and McDonnell Attorneys. He retired from practicing law after working with his son, John Cook at Pietrangelo Cook Law firm from 1997 to 2007. He was past president of the San Antonio and Memphis Estate Planning Councils. He was a former member of the Tennessee and the Memphis Bar Associations, the Downtown Rotary Club, Chickasaw Country Club, the University Club and Memphis. During the nine years he was with the San Antonio office of Ernst and Young, he was in politics in the suburban City of Castle Hills serving on the city council and as mayor. He was the author of the weekly newspaper column “A.J.’s Tax Fables” for 20 years beginning in 1983, published in the Memphis Commercial Appeal and distributed nationally by Scripps Howard News Service. He enjoyed telling stories of people stopping him on the street to discuss his column. He was an avid tennis player and started playing soccer in 1981. In 1987, at the age of 61, he was the oldest soccer player in Tennessee and continued to play into his seventies. He had a great sense of humor and his favorite thing to do was to spend time laughing with his family and good friends. He especially loved it when his granddaughters would sing for him. He was a great dancer, and especially enjoyed dancing the jitterbug. A.J. was a devoted husband, father and grandfather. He is survived by his loving wife, Matie; and 3 children: Lisa Cook Rankin (Bill) of Houston, Mary Beth Del Conte (Garry) and John Cook (Terri) of Memphis. He has 9 grandchildren: Rachel of Austin, TX and Meghan, Mary, Danny, Timmy, Tess, Christina, Julianna, and Thomas of Memphis. The visitation will be Monday, April 25th, 5 to 7 pm at Memorial Park Funeral Home (5668 Poplar Avenue, 38119; 901-767-8930). A rosary will follow at 7. The funeral service will be Tuesday, April 26th, 11:30 am at Church of the Holy Spirit (2300 Hickory Crest Drive, 38119; 901-754-7146). A procession to the Veterans Cemetery will follow the service and then a reception back at the church. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Church of the Holy Spirit, address above or to Methodist Alliance Hospice, 6400 Shelby View Drive, Suite 101, Memphis, TN 38134.
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