George S. Cook
George Spicer Cook was born on Aug. 6, 1945, the same day the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, as he liked to tell, and his life was one of adventure and love. He died peacefully in his sleep on Sept. 23, 2024, fulfilling his wish to “die like a doctor” and was surrounded by his loved ones.
George lived a life of his own choosing, full of passion and whimsy and was beloved by many. He was born in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, to Bobby and Beth Cook, along with his younger brothers Robert and Sidney. George attended medical school at Temple University in Pennsylvania and completed his Family Medicine and Pediatric residency in Buffalo, New York. An avid kayak racer and mountain man, George looked at a map and picked Saranac Lake to be his forever home, establishing North Country Family Physicians with his two partners. He loved this community for its people, the beauty of water and mountains, and its music and art.
George was a healer, a mentor, a friend, a poet, a singer, a lover of the outdoors, a traveler and most importantly to him, a father and a husband.
Surviving George are the mothers of his children, Marijke Ormel-Cook and Linda Tarentelli; his children, Jessica Zobel (Doug), Mathew Cook (Sara), Annelies Cook (Robert) and Marlijne Kruse (Leif); as well as five grandchildren, Lila (15), Eloise (13), Phoenix (8), Ida (3) and Timon (2 months). His many stories will be told with tears and much laughter.
George felt blessed in the richness of his life. In an excerpt from a Christmas letter from 1995, he wrote, “I put my family in a house. I put my money in the bank. I put my kids in college, I put my skis, kayaks, bikes or boots on for 400 hours per year. I put myself outside to sleep in either tent, treehouse, houseboat or snow cave 50 times per year with any family member who will tolerate me. And I worship at the altar of The Great Out of Doors.”
Funeral arrangements are in care of the Fortune-Keough Funeral Home in Saranac Lake. A celebration of George Cook’s life will be open to the public between 3 and 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 6 at the Dewey Mountain Recreation Center. Please join his family with stories to share.
Friends wishing to remember George are asked to make memorial contributions to the Saranac Lake Health Association in care of the funeral home. Family and friends can share their condolences and memories at fortunekeoughfuneralhome.com.