Ronald D. Cooke (1930-2019)

COOKE, ZORTMAN, FORMANEK

Posted By: Ken Wright (email)
Date: 4/12/2019 at 13:48:14

Ronald D. Cooke, 88, of Waukesha, Wisconsin, formerly of Maquoketa, Iowa and Beloit, Wisconsin, died Tuesday, April 9, 2019, at his home. Mass of the Resurrection will be held 11:00 a.m., Friday, April 12, 2019, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Maquoketa. Burial will be at St. Joseph Cemetery, Chelsea, Iowa.
Ronald was born, the second youngest of seven children on June 5, 1930, in Smithland, Iowa, to Ivan and W. Alma (Zortman) Cooke. He graduated from Smithland High School in 1949. Ronald was united in marraign to Marilyn Formanek on February 22, 1955 at St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church, Cedar Rapids. To this Union three children were born.
Ronald began his career at Iowa Milling Company. He graduated from the University of Iowa with a mechanical engineering degree in 1961 and went on to work at Beloit Corporation in Beloit, Wisconsin until his retirement in 1992. After retirement Ronald and Marilyn moved to Maquoketa, Iowa where they resided for over twenty years before joining family in Waukesha, Wisconsin in 2016.
Ronald was a former member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Maquoketa. He had an inquisitive mind and could fix virtually anything. He and Marilyn loved antiquing together; he had a special skill of restoring old clocks and woodworking. Ronald enjoyed traveling and he especially treasured memories of taking road trips and camping across the United States with his wife and children. He will be missed by those who loved him.
Ronald is survived by his wife of sixty-four years, Marilyn; children: David Cooke, Tracey Barrett, both of Waukesha, Wis. and Diane Geissler of Santa Monica, California; three grandchildren: Madeline Barrett of Galway,Ireland, Shane Barrett of Waukesha, Wisconsin., and Abigail Geissler of Santa Monica, CA. He was preceded in death by his parents; six siblings; and a brother-in-law, Roger Formanek.