Bert Cook

   Find a Grave ID: 191620803.

  General Notes:

per MIL's obit

Findagrave
Bert H. Cook, Jr, 87, of Cape Elizabeth, died peacefully at home surrounded by his family, on July 22, 2018.
He was born Dec. 12, 1930, in Memphis, Tenn., son of the late Bert and Aileen (Hargett) Cook, Sr. At the age of five his family moved to Baltimore, Md. where he lived until 1945 when the family moved to Richmond, Va. Following graduation from Thomas Jefferson High School in Richmond he entered Virginia Polytechnic Institute in Blacksburg, Va. when it was an all male military college. Following his first year at VPI he transferred to the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Va. He graduated in 1954 with a BS Degree in Commerce. Bert was a member of Kappa Sigma Fraternity. Following graduation, he entered the Army as a 2nd Lt. to satisfy his military obligation under the ROTC program. He was stationed at Ft. Meade, Md. and participated in "Operation Sagebrush," combined military maneuvers in Ft. Polk, La.
In 1956 he joined IBM as a sales representative out of their Baltimore office. In 1957, Bert left IBM and joined his father in Manchester, N.H. as his assistant managing the ME, NH, and VT sales division for Electrolux Corporation. It was in Manchester, N.H. he met his wife to be, Mary Flanders, on Oct. 28, 1958. They were married on March 28, 1959.
In May of 1960, the Cooks were transferred to Portland, Maine, where Bert became the sales manager of the Portland branch of Electrolux. The family settled in Sherwood Forest of Cape Elizabeth. Following his father's retirement, he became the Branch Manager in 1963 and in 1967 was promoted to Division Manager with responsibility for the three Northern New England states.
Recognizing the importance of a good stable home environment for his four children he passed up two different offers for promotions to regional management that would have required relocating. These proved to be good decisions because in the early 70's he was named Northeast Regional Manager and was permitted to make Portland his home office. In the early 80's he was named one of the companies six Area Vice Presidents with sales management responsibilities for the Northeast from New York to the Canadian border, while still maintaining Portland as his home office.
Bert retired at the age of 56 after 30 years with Electrolux in May 1987, as one of only two people in the company's history to rise from Sales to a Marketing VP while never having to relocate.
During his career with Electrolux Bert won numerous sales awards and trips. This permitted him and his wife Mary the opportunity to travel extensively throughout the U.S. Other trips included a safari in Africa, a trip to Paris on the "Concorde" as well as numerous trips to the Caribbean, and Western Europe.
Fortunately, Bert and Mary were able to continue their travels after his retirement. They enjoyed many cruises, including one to Bermuda in 2003 with their four children and a subsequent family trip to Bermuda in 2012. Bert later told his close friends, "It was the best money we ever spent"
Bert was an active member for over 40 years of Portland Country Club, and enjoyed golf as a member of Maine Seniors Golf. He was a past member of the Cumberland Club and Purpoodock Club.
As proud as he was of his business accomplishments, none of this could compare to the pride he held for his family. He was predeceased by his parents; and his wonderful wife of 55 years, Mary. He is survived by their four children, Mary C. Timm of Manchester, Maine and her husband Dr. Jeffrey Timm and her two daughters, Ali and Meghan McClure; Bert H. Cook III of Scarborough and his wife Karen and their three children, Brittany, Stephen and Cassie; Geoffrey F. Cook of Wake Forest, N.C.and his wife Lindy and his four children Sarah, Abbey, Mikaela and Garrett; Elizabeth C. Coleman of Scarborough and her husband Mark and their three children, Carley, Mary and Mark; and his great-granddaughter, Willow Elly Spears, daughter of Carley Coleman and fiance Kivvy Spears.
There will be a graveside service at Riverside Memorial Cemetery, Cape Elizabeth for family and friends at 3pm on Friday, July 27, 2018.

Bert married Mary Flanders, daughter of Robert Flanders and Mary Parker Straw, on 28 Mar 1959 in Manchester, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire. (Mary Flanders was born on 1 Apr 1930 in Manchester, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, died on 16 Dec 2014 in Cape Elizabeth, Cumberland County, Maine and was buried in Riverside Cemetery - Cape Elizabeth, Maine.)

  Marriage Notes:

obit