Tenth Generation

878. Laverne Charles COOK was born in 1944 in Clifton Township, Monroe County, WI.⁶⁵¹ He died on 18 July 2014 at the age of 70 in Ankara, Turkey.⁶⁵¹

Obituary Notes: "Laverne Charles Cook, 70, most recently of Ankara, Turkey died Friday, July 18, 2014, at Guven Hospital. He had been receiving treatment for lung cancer for the past two years and ultimately passed away from side effects/complications of that treatment.

He was born at home on the family farm near Clifton, Wis., the son of Charles and Mildred (Boeder) Cook. Laverne graduated from Tomah High School in 1962 and began his studies in agriculture at UW-River Falls that fall. In July 1966, he married Barbara Kahabka of Pepin, Wis. Their daughter, Dawn, was born the following winter. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in agriculture in 1967. He continued his education while farming outside River Falls and received a master’s degree from UWRF in May 1969.

The family then moved to Las Cruces, N.M., where he pursued and completed a doctorate of education at New Mexico State University. Following his graduation, Laverne joined RCA Service Co. in Dallas, Texas, as a curriculum specialist at Skyline Vocational School. The couple’s son, Aaron, was born in 1973. By 1975, the couple moved to Charleston, W.V., where he worked with RCA on numerous contracts for Kanawha County schools and Boone County Vocational/Technical Schools, as well as coal mining training programs.

After five years in West Virginia, the family briefly moved to El Paso, Texas, where Laverne worked on a contract proving technical training manuals for the U.S. Army at Fort Bliss, Texas. In 1981, the family moved to Cherry Hill, N.J., the headquarters of RCA. From 1981 to 1991, Laverne worked on education service contracts located throughout the military and civilian sectors around the U.S.

It was during this time that he would discover a passion for supporting education development programs in developing world countries, sponsored by the World Bank and U.S. AID (Aid for International Development). He spent lengthy periods in locations such as Jamaica, Haiti, Belize, and Indonesia, as well as London, England. In 1991, he was the last remaining employee of the Education and Human Services Division of RCA, since GE ceased doing that work.

Beginning in January 1992, Laverne moved to Ankara, Turkey, as he continued supporting education infrastructure and other programs with the World Bank. His work in Turkey was sponsored by Ohio State University and Arizona State University and continued until 1998. He continued to support similar education and development programs around the globe, living for a time in Moldova, Ghana, Azerbaijan, and Albania.

In October 2001, he married Ozlem Demirel in Turkey and their son, Isik was born in April 2005. For the past five to seven years, Laverne has worked in Hanoi, Vietnam, for World Bank sponsored education contracts. He was in Vietnam working these efforts up until just a month before his death.

He is survived by his wife, Ozlem; three children, daughter, Dawn Cook (Michael Pryzby) of Springfield, Va. and sons, Aaron Cook (Renee Carpentier) of Sewell, N.J. and Isik Dean Cook of Ankara, Turkey; and one grandchild, Cole Pryzby of Springfield, Va. He’s also survived by four siblings, Lavonne (William) Spiers of Tomah, MaryLou (Martin) Rost of Mankato, Minn., Bonnie (Dale) Ludeking of Camp Douglas, and Richard (Joann) Cook of Hustler. He had many nieces and nephews of whom he was proud. He was preceded in death by his parents; and one brother, Ronald Cook.

A funeral service was at 6 p.m. Saturday, July 26, at Sonnenburg Family Funeral Home, 801 Monowau St. E., Tomah. Pastor James Leston officiated. Burial was Sunday, July 27, in Oak Grove Cemetery."

Laverne Charles COOK and Ozlem DEMIREL were married in October 2001 in Turkey.⁶⁵¹ Ozlem DEMIREL was born (date unknown).

Laverne Charles COOK and Ozlem DEMIREL had the following children:

Laverne Charles COOK and Barbara RAHABKA were married in July 1966.⁶⁵¹ Barbara RAHABKA was born (date unknown).

Laverne Charles COOK and Barbara RAHABKA had the following children: