John “J.C.” Howard Cook Jr. died June 18, 2025, at the age of 75.
A Celebration of Life service was held on Thursday, June 26, at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Cherokee. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials be made to any of the organizations in which he was active including: St. Paul’s United Methodist Church “next generation fund”, the “endowment” fund of the Cherokee Educational Foundation, Cherokee Public Library Foundation, and the “Help” fund of the Iowa United Methodist Foundation. Online condolences may be left at www.boothbyfuneral.com.
John was born Aug. 10, 1949, in Chicago, Ill., the son of John “Jack” H. Cook and Jean (Ary) Cook. In 1952 his family relocated to Cherokee, so his father could join the family law firm of Herrick, Ary & Cook.
John attended Cherokee Public Schools, graduated from Washington High School in 1967, then graduated from Iowa State University in 1971 with a degree in industrial administration (accounting). He was a member of the Iowa State debate team during his four years in Ames, competing in over 400 rounds of varsity competition all over the country ending with the National Debate Tournament. He cited this competition for Iowa State as a factor for his continued support for ISU for the rest of his life.
John attended Drake Law School, wrote for the law review, competed with the moot court team, was selected to the scholastic honorary “Order of the Coif” and graduated with honors in 1974. He returned to Cherokee to practice law for more than 50 years. He took pride in joining the family line of work which has now spanned four generations as he practiced with his father, brothers Richard and William, and his son Jason. He was a member of the American Bar Association, Iowa State Bar Association and Cherokee County Bar Association. He enjoyed coordinating the presentation of the Bar Association American Citizenship Award in Cherokee County high schools for 50 years.
In 1973 John was married to Jan Fisher in Muscatine. They first met in his attempts to recruit her to the Iowa State debate team. Later he introduced her to coffee and the joy of late-night hangouts. John and Jan had two children, Erin and Jason. John was a devoted father who was disinterested in accolades, but held the title of "dad” with great pride.
John was an active member of St. Paul's United Methodist Church, chairing the administrative board for more than 20 years and holding a number of other offices and committee positions. He coordinated the “Adult Class” for many of the years since the 1980s. He was part of Piety Hill Productions that sponsored special musical events in the renovated sanctuary. He was a founder and chair of the Pancake Day races held the day before Ash Wednesday for a number of years. Beyond the local church, he served for eight years as a member of the Iowa United Methodist Foundation, serving as president for two years.
John was active from the time of return to Cherokee in a number of community organizations and enjoyed very much his time spent with others who serve on Cherokee’s nonprofits. He had been a member of the Adult Education Board and the Jaycees (past president). He was a 50-year member, past president and a Paul Harris Fellow of Rotary. For about six years he co-chaired the Bacon Aquatic Center pool with Dr. Bob Martin that developed the design, fund raising and construction of the aquatic center. In 2007 he received a leadership award from the Cherokee Economic Development and was recognized as Citizen of theYear.
He was active in other nonprofit boards serving as a director of the Erlandson Foundation, co-founder of the Cherokee Education Foundation, serving as corporate secretary from its creation to the present. He was a co-founder of the Cherokee Archives.
John called the BWCA area of extreme Northern Minnesota his “happy place,” spending some part of every summer since the age of one. His grandparents, Lester and Eva Ary, had a log cabin built in the woods there in 1936, which made it a special place for the family. This past year he helped complete the restoration of the old cabin to ensure that the Northwoods will continue to be a "happy place" for generations to come.
He was preceded in death by his parents, John H. “Jack” in 1996 and Jean (Ary) Cook in 2013; and by his four-legged friends Shane, Bailey and Marley.
He is survived by his wife Jan Allison (Fisher) Cook; daughter Erin Elizabeth Webster and her husband Nick; son Jason Matthew Cook and his wife Miranda; and cherished grandchildren: Shay Webster, Colin Webster, Addie Webster, Jack Cook and Tyler Cook. He would also note that he was survived by his golden retriever, Charley.
