Donald Lee Cook

Donald Lee Cook, 94, jumped his last train to gloryland Sunday, January 8, 2017. Visitation will be 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM, Wednesday, January 11, 2017 at Denton-Wood Funeral Home. A graveside service is scheduled Thursday, January 12, 2017, 2:00 PM in the old section at Carlsbad Cemetery, Carlsbad, NM. Full military honors will be provided by the Carlsbad Veterans Honor Guard. Denton-Wood Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements. Donald Lee Cook was born December 7, 1922 in Hazenmore, Saskatchewan, Canada to Joseph Sanford and Clarissa Jane (Beck) Cook. His parents had gone to Canada for the wheat harvest and ended up spending several years there. Upon returning to the states, they resided in Winston Salem, NC. Don lived with his grandmother Cook from the time he was seven until her death when he was thirteen. At that time, Gilmer and Marybelle Newsom made him a part of their family and he loved them dearly. In his younger years, he worked in the tobacco fields in North Carolina. He also shared stories about jumping trains and riding with the hobos. Don graduated Winston Salem City Schools in January 1941. He enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corp in January 1942 and served his country in WWII. He received a Purple Heart and other awards after crash landing in the Adriatic Sea March 30, 1944. Don began working with Remington Rand in 1948 in Dallas and El Paso. He relocated to SE New Mexico in 1952 where he worked as a typewriter/adding machine mechanic for many years with Sander's Office Supply in Artesia and then with The Paper Clip in Hobbs, NM. In 1974, he opened his own service business and retired in 1989. He was active in the Heights Lions Club in Artesia, the VFW, DAV, and the Elks. Traveling was something he loved to do and was able to visit Italy in 1980. He drove thousands of miles during his lifetime and could tell you every route to take. In addition to traveling, he enjoyed hunting, fishing, searching for treasures and working in the yard. Don also loved the Lord and could quote many scriptures as he was an avid reader before losing his eyesight. He was preceded in death by his parents; wives: Margaret Allene Cook and Isabella Cook; companion, Jody Davis; son, James Robert Robison; brothers: Howard Cook and Bob Cook and adopted parents: Gilmer and Marybelle Newsom. Survivors are his son, Eric Cook and wife, Rhonda of Lakewood, NM; daughters: Donna Courson of Carlsbad, NM, Janie Pittman and husband, Mickey of Carlsbad, NM; step-daughter, Lucy Arcand and husband, Tom of Big Spring, Texas; grandchildren: John Robison, Cheri Jackson, Travis Courson, Seth Courson, Robert Cook, Cory Cook, Shane Pittman, Andrew Ellerd; 18 great-grandchildren; 2 great-great-grandchildren; adopted sibilings, Norma "Sis" Cox and Sonny Newson as well as numerous nieces and nephews. The family wishes to thank the staff and caregivers of Goodlife for the compassion, love, and care they gave Don. Pallbearers will be his grandchildren. Condolences may be expressed at dentonwood.com.