“It`s Tough to Tie a Tie Through Tears”

ISSUE 2
IN THIS ISSUE
Connecting the employees of Cook, Kubiak-Cook, Koops, QPP & GMM
CONNECTING WITH FAMILIES WE SERVE
“It’s Tough to Tie a Tie
Through Tears”
by Dale Matthews
The family was devastated by the
sudden death of a “young” husband and father! I did the afternoon visitation and funeral the
next day. At the visitation I heard
many talk about how the 23 year
old son had to “mature” over
night. I talked with the wife and
23 year old several times, including sharing my condolences with
them. I told them that I would
not be at the evening visitation,
but that I would be with them in
the morning for the funeral at the
church.
We had everything set up at
the church in the morning when
mother and son arrived. I walked
up to them to see how they were
doing and the son held out his
tie and asked if I could tie it for
him. He and his Mom had even
gone on line to see if they could
ƒƒ CONNECTING WITH
FAMILIES WE SERVE
ƒƒ CONNECTING WITH OUR
EMPLOYEES
ƒƒ COMPANY CONNECTION
ƒƒ CONNECTING WITH
COMMUNITY
You are the Expert!
by Jeanne Shaffer
Each one of you has been chosen
as a member of the Cook team for
your skills and expertise as well as
your commitment to excellence.
Using your gifts and talents to help
families during a very difficult time in
their lives is a privilege. As we serve
families we also serve and encourage
one another.
Your impact is greater than the tasks
you accomplish. Helping another
person, solving a problem, or simply
doing what needs to be done with a
gracious attitude is what makes all
of our firms known for excellence.
Sandy Westhouse
get it done, to no avail. He then
said something that touched my
heart, “Dad always tied it for me
and I can’t do it.” I took the tie and
put it around my neck, saying that
was the only way I could do it and
would slip it off and he could slip
it on. He said that is just how his
Dad does it!
It’s tough to tie a tie through
tears, but I did!
Passionate employees are the
building blocks of our companies.
Our employees are amazing! Each
month we share just a little from our
collection of their inspiring stories
of service. Our best ideas for serving our families have come from
our employees. You are the expert!
We need your ideas for continuous
improvements.
A special thank you to all our
employees for your commitment to
Serve With Excellence.
Excellence takes sacrifice, mistakes,
and enormous amounts of effort.
There are no shortcuts.
Rafe Esquith
CONNECTING WITH OUR EMPLOYEES
Remembering Dorothy
Dorothy Fernhout
by Deb Mousseau
The name “Dorothy” means “gift
from God”. Dorothy Fernhout was
truly a gift from God to all who
knew her. Dorothy was a wonderful, kind, thoughtful person.
I have never heard anyone ever say
an unkind word about Dorothy. If
you crossed paths with Dorothy
during any given day, you were
blessed with a beautiful smile and
an encouraging word.
If only there were more Dorothy
Fernhouts, this world would be a
better place. I consider it not only
a gift, but an honor to have known
Dorothy.
Prayers for Dorothy’s family and
close friends as they continue to
find their “new normal” without her
lovely presence.
May they cherish the memories of
God’s wonderful gift to them, the
gift of Dorothy Fernhout.
Bill & Dorothy Fernhout
For several years, the Kubiak-Cook
staff has been blessed with the
addition of part-timer Bill Fernhout. Bill is known in the Byron
Center and Wayland communities
(among others) for his pastoring
at several different Christian Reformed Church pulpits.
In the Spring of 2014, the Wayland
Schools honored Dorothy on a special day. The Dorr Elementary invited her family to a breakfast held
for them. The centerpieces on the
table were flip flops in memory of
her. Following the breakfast a tree
was dedicated in front of the school
with a beautiful granite plaque.
Her legacy lives on each day at the
school and is reflected in the lovely
tribute which grows in her honor.
All of our hearts were saddened
with him when on January 20,
2014 his beautiful wife Dorothy
Mae Fernhout,passed peacefully
into the loving arms of her Lord
and Savior.
One of the greatest legacies
Dorothy has left behind was with
her work as a Special Education
teacher at Dorr Elementary.
“Dorothy was a wonderful teacher,
friend and parent. She loved her
students and it showed in everything she did with them. She made
a difference in the lives of so many
children. “
– Susan Hofmann
2
She had more energy and was more
cheerful as she taught WHILE fighting cancer than any healthy person.
I’ve never known a more beautiful
soul.
– Molly Parker
Dorr Elementary School
Ron Cook
Honored
At the Michigan Funeral Directors
Association (MFDA) convention in
Lansing, Ronald R. Cook received
the Sixty Year Licensees award.
The award is in recognition of sixty
years of devotion to the funeral
service profession and with deep
appreciation for the interest in and
to humanity. It is given on behalf of
the funeral profession in Michigan.
Congratulations and thank you
Mr. Cook!
COMPANY CONNECTION
Funeral Services Training
by Ron Cook ll
We held a Funeral Staff Training event at the Cook Memorial Chapel in Grandville
Thursday, May 28. Around 40 people were in attendance for a very informative
session. My hat goes off to Mary Burdo and her supporting cast for the incredible effort and preparation that went into this day and all the printed materials
that were handed out.
There were multiple presentations: my dad and I introduced some people that
are new to the team, details about funeral services, method of seating at a
funeral, family coaching at a first time of viewing, John Pountney explained the
importance of our efforts in bringing people into our care from their place of
death, Sheri Deppe talked about food service and some of our recent changes
there, Audrey DeHaan talked about Aftercare materials and processes, Pastor
Gary Leyendecker presented the value offerings at our monument company, Mary Burdo reminded us of the importance of FTC Compliance and other
important resource materials, and we finished with a reminder about the Cook
Company Picnic at the Ballpark on Friday, July 10.
If you were unable to attend the training, please touch base with Mary Burdo
mburdo@cookcares.com to receive the thorough training materials and a link
to the video or even a DVD video copy of the training itself. Again, thank you to
everyone who attended and contributed.
Fire?
Our Lake Odessa rental unit was
put to good use before being torn
down. The local fire department
was able to use it for practicing
their life saving skills.
3
CONNECTING WITH COMMUNITY
Veterans’ Picnic
by Melanie Ippel
What another beautiful night to celebrate our local Veterans! We served
over 400 people on a beautiful sunny
Thursday and we were so excited to
see so many familiar faces.
The Jenison choir concluded our
night by singing some beautiful
patriotic music and everyone walked
away with a free tote bag filled with
goodies.
We changed things up just a little
bit this year, and boy was it a HIT!
Over 40 teenagers for the Jenison
High School choir came and actually
SERVED the Veterans their dinner.
The smiles, thank-yous and appreciation
that the kids got was overwhelming!
One of the highlights was watching
our oldest Veteran in attendance, a
World War 11 vet, walk over to the
choir and begin to tell them some
war stories. He became a walking
history book to them, as many of
them are studying this war in school.
They all shook his hand and his smile
was huge.
Texas Roadhouse once again came
through and served an amazing BBQ
chicken dinner! If you haven’t ever
gone to Texas Roadhouse, you should
give it a try! It is located just off of
196 and 44th St in Grandville and
they serve AMAZING dinners with
some extra yummy dinner rolls!
Memo
SAVE THE DATE
Annual Cook Party!
West Michigan Whitecaps
July 10, 2015
An evening of fun
at the ballpark
Invites mailing soon!
All-in-all, we really can’t say enough
great things about this night. Everyone was smiling and enjoying the
evening, and we were able to thank
those that made it all possible for us
to stand their basking in our freedom.
Upcoming events
ƒƒVeterans Benefits Today
Byron Center - Tuesday, June 16 at 7:00 pm at Cook Funeral Home.
Grandville - Tuesday, June 23 at 7:00 pm at the Cook Memorial Chapel
ƒƒWidows’ Picnic in the Park
After last year’s success we will again be hosting several widows’ picnics this summer. This is a special gathering just for men and women in
our community who have lost a spouse. For some it may have been a long
time ago and for others much more recent. It’s an opportunity to make
new friends, be entertained, and enjoy some great food. Details to come.
ƒƒAnnual Chicken and Wild Game Dinner
St. Mary’s Visitation in Byron Center. Meet in the lobby at 11:30.
CHICKEN - Sunday, June 28 / WILD GAME - Sunday, November 1
This newsletter is published by:
Cook Family Services
4235 Prairie, Ave.
Grandville, MI 49418
Phone: 616.534.7619
www.cookcares.com
©2015 – All rights reserved