Family, Friends & Fellow Officers Remember...

For still in mutual sufferance lies the secret of true living; love scarce is love that never knows the sweetness of forgiving. As true a gentleman as you were, Officer Cook, so lovable and caring, so humble and loyal, there can never be anything scarce other than those who miss you so dearly. The price you and your forty-one other Metro-Dade colleagues paid for our liberties can never truly be repaid to you, so we gather and take a moment out of our busy lives to reflect back on your time as an officer and a life so endearing to those whose beings reached across and shook hands with you. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

October 20, 2013

Love is born of faith, live son hope and dies of charity. This I have known always; love is no more than the wide blossom of which the wind assails, than the great tide that treads the shifting shore, strewing fresh wreckage gathered in the gales; pity me that the heart is slow to learn what the swift mind beholds at ever turn. All law enforcement officials who sacrifice their lives in the performance of their duties all have this certain bond of love and faith that surrounds them and their families. This was your make up, Officer Cook, your DNA, you never left your house without it. It served you well for six years and much more in all your endeavors. The breeze blows the leaves where you rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero and the silence can be deafening, but let no person make the mistake, only someone so brave lies in the hallowed ground beneath. Your charitable deeds forever follow you have traveled. Your loved have continued setting this example in your honor. You would be very proud of them.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

October 20, 2013

So blind is life, so long at last is sleep and none but love to bid us laugh or weep. When brave men and women like yourself, Officer Cook, give up their lives, there is always something not right with that equation. We may gain an insight as we grow older. Your family wishes you were given that chance to grow older as you had so much more to give back to your community. Most of your comrades who went to battle with you each day to gain an upper hand in this fight we call a war, remember your smiling persona and the proudest confidence that you so often displayed. Your memory is their legacy of which we can all remember you by even the lay people, the citizens you took pride in serving and in protecting. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero, sleep comfortably in God's shade where those comrades can gather from time to time to pay you homage for a job well done.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

October 20, 2013

Love is anterior to life, posterior to death. The love you gave your loving family and the love and respect you received from all only serves as the model in how we should not only live, but to conduct our lives and careers with a solid and a most moving respect. You did a dangerous job, Officer Cook and served with pride right up until the last breath you took on our behalf. The front and back of your police uniform that you wore with a sense of pride, humbleness and honor only reinforces the need for all to act this way. This duplication should only motivate us to succeed in whatever ventures we follow through with. Love those as you would want them to respect you. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

October 20, 2013

This dust was once the man, gentle, plain, just and resolute, under whose cautious hand, against the foulest crime in history known in any land or age, was saved the Union of these States. Your remains, Officer Cook are buried near a tall green tree. Very fitting, as you were an outdoors person. You were a gentle, humble giant of an officer who possessed a heart bigger than ever, when it came down to assisting others. Whenever an officer is taken from their family, friends and colleagues this certainly is one of the more heinous crimes that can be perpetrated against society considering the freedoms we are afforded because of your sacrifice and that of over twenty-one thousand other heroes and heroines. The scent of a grand person, a loving son, brother and husband will forever encamp those who considered you a friend and colleague. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. This state, this city and county will always remember your courageousness.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

October 20, 2013

His head is bowed. He thinks of men and kings. Yes, when the sick world cries, how can he sleep? Too many peasants fight, they know not why; too many homesteads in black terror weep. Our heads were down the day you gave up your life, Officer Cook, to make our community safer and more sound. You gave unity, freedom and liberty a new meaning as do all officers who bravely make the ultimate sacrifice. You brought forth victory for the downtrodden, liberty for the afflicted and peace for those able to go out into the community for their livelihoods. You sleep soundly in God's eternal shelter in His golden gates where many have joined you after waging war against this constant nemesis, evil. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

October 20, 2013

Criticism means an attempt to find out what something is, not for the purpose of judging it, or imitating it, nor for the purpose of illustrating something else nor for any other ulterior purpose whatever. There never will be any issues with officers who not only risk their lives, but sacrifice their souls so others can live. Your boldness and swiftness to act and to react that day, Officer cook, says an awful lot about your stellar character and morals that are so vital not only in your profession, but in any endeavor that helps our lives become a little better. You were not one to ever waver and your courage and bravery serves to motivate us on how we can each do a little better everyday. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

October 17, 2013

American muse, whose strong and diverse heart, so many men have tried to understand, but only made it smaller with their art, because you are as various as your land. All people are eclectic in their ideas, morals and personal values. You, Officer Cook, took these ideals and expounded upon their virtues and these made you the best person, the best officer, with a dogged determination to succeed mightily where others may have failed. Failure was not a word in your vocabulary. Helping others and picking up their spirits was one of your many humble mantels in life. To be the best, you not only need to be the best, but display this trait in treating others. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

October 17, 2013

No more for him life's stormy conflicts, nor victory, nor defeat-no more time's dark events, changing like ceaseless clouds across the sky. When a living being passes from this world to the next world, the first question they are asked by God: Did you do good deeds? You could answer that question only one way, Officer Cook, in the affirmative. You lived and were raised by family values and it was these values which transformed you into the gentleman you grew up to be. There was no need to shine your badge, it was shining with honor, dignity, humility and the confidence to succeed the first time. We cannot say this unfortunately about all officers, a little polish is needed in proper ethical conduct and tact that just might be the medicine they need to ingest before getting out on patrol. The day you gave your life, my neighbor, friend and hero was a very bright hot and sunny day. Tragically, darkness enveloped your division and department when word came down that you sacrificed your life in the cause of liberty and freedom for all citizens. But the darkness has abated a little bit as we continually remember the light from your soul which always has and forever will illuminate this seemingly perpetual darkness. Rest in peace as your soul climbs that ladder to guide Our Creator in watching over God's golden streets.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

October 17, 2013

He has doctrines, not hatreds and is without ambition except to do good and serve his country. You took your lead along with Nancy, Officer Cook from your mother, Mrs. Julia Cook and your father, Mr. Charles Cook, in these positive attributes and they made you both the type of individuals who grew up to humbly accomplish whatever you wanted to do successfully. You were a very hard working and ambitious person who desired to have a good quality of life and to provide the necessary needs for your beloved wife, Karen, as well. You looked out for one another and were always interested in her professional career as she was for yours. She realized what you were determined to do and one hundred percent of the time supported you in all your efforts. Supporting, loving, caring and sharing is the proper route for a young couple to navigate down as you had begun your careers. Your sacrifice instills in all of us that if you have the proper intentions and the will to do well is a solidly placed foundation, then you can never fail, nor go wrong. Police officers are trained public servants who operate under the canopy of honor and integrity in performing a dangerous job, yet they too rely on God to see them through the tough times. God determines our lots in life and yours, my neighbor, friend and hero was well placed, well-valued and well-lived for twenty-five years of grace and dignity with a compassion that no other person can even come close to duplicating. Rest in peace.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

October 17, 2013

He held his place-held the long purpose like a growing tree-held on through blame and faltered not at praise. And when he fell in whirlwind, he went down as when a lordly cedar, green with boughs, goes down with a great shout upon the hills and leaves a lonesome place against the sky. You held your ground, Officer Cook, in your daily battles with evil and that day of May 16, 1979, you acted no differently, you utilized your intellect and professional training in saving your four comrades and those three civilians from eminent death, placing your being ahead of the citizens who knew and respected you for your achievements. Your final resting place is by a tall green tree, fitting for you were a passionate photographer. Like the General Electric promo, "You brought good things to life." Your spirit as you rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero continues to bring us good things to ponder and remember your legacy by. God's eternal lens continues to snap off some great pictures of this world made greater by your pursuits of unity and justice for all.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

October 17, 2013

With my own ability, I cannot succeed, without the sustenance of Divine providence and of great free, happy and intelligent people. Without these I cannot hope to succeed; with them, I cannot fail. God guided you, Officer Cook, in all your abilities and you never failed nor let anyone down. I just wish I could as a civilian been there that awful day to do whatever I could have to save you. You stood out as a man among men. Brave and valiant, that is why your friend, Chief Geoff Jacobs said your maturity was way beyond that of others. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

October 17, 2013

O I see now that life cannot exhibit all to me, as the day cannot, i see that I am to wait for what will be exhibited by death. Thanks to great men and women like yourself, Officer Cook, I can go wherever, for health, the midday sun, the impalpable air-for life, mere life. We owe our lives to your life, my neighbor, friend and hero. The serious approaches you undertook to maintain dignity on this Earth. Everything we do, is in large part due to your diligence, your perseverance, most of all, your courage and bravery is the driving force by which we continue to maintain our battle with evil and lead our lives with plenty of a fighting spirit to carry this torch which you faithfully passed on to us. Rest in peace.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

October 16, 2013

My candle burns at both ends; it will not last the night; but, oh, my foes and oh, my friends-it gives a lovely light. The past belongs to God, the present only is ours, still overseen by God and short as it is, there is more in it and of it, than well we can manage. You burned that candle along with your beloved wife, Karen, Officer Cook at both ends to properly provide a solid roof, clothes, food, and lovely house for both of you. As I've said before, the two of you would have made a great set of parents devoted and giving. Your family my neighbor, friend and hero carries on with their lives, because of your determination in achieving your goals, your dreams and desires to become a very successful police officer. The light will never go out, because your soul, Officer Cook, would never permit such a thing to occur ever. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

October 16, 2013

A little while the tears and laughter, the willow and the rose; a little while and what comes after no man knows. An hour to sing, to love and linger, then lutanist and lute will fall on silence, song and singer will be mute. Life truly is a voyage that is homeward bound. None but a good man is really a living man and the more good any man does, the more he really lives. All the rest is death, or that which belongs to it. All the laughter and tears you brought to your loving family, Officer Cook, all the sweat and toil you delivered with competence to your department, outweighs the negative of losing you. I say this because nothing, absolutely nothing will remove or tarnish your brilliant career as a police officer. No one wants to ever have to bury a child and to your mother, Mrs. Julia Cook and to your father, Mr. Charles Cook, raised a very giving and righteous son, whose morals go well beyond any individual who walks the face of this earth. God's radiance bounces off your soul as it lights up this world with good wishes for good health, peace and prosperity. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero along with your father.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

October 16, 2013

Ships that pass in the night and speak to each other in passing, only a signal shown and a distant voice in the darkness; so on the ocean of life, we pass and speak to one another, only a look and a voice, then darkness again and a silence. We look up each night to the big bright blue moon, the stars twinkling in the skies, we see your vivid soul, Officer Cook, that has been circling us for these past thirty-four years. We keep asking ourselves how can this be? You are still with us in spirit, that never left our sides, only your physical presence returned to the earth from where we come from. We can feel the radiant touch of your soul as it hovers over us and your loving and giving family members. A sure sign of good things to come. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

October 16, 2013

Life is what happens while you are making other plans. But life is sweet, though all that makes it sweet and lessens like the sound of friends departing feet. We all make grand plans, yet tragically, the best laid plans of mice and men can go awry. Your grit and devotion in serving us, Officer Cook, will never be overlooked in the total equation of your life and the career which you nurtured and maintained with grace and your uniquely passionate style of law enforcing. You were a mainstay of your department and your colleagues, friends and loving family who gave you to your department will always treasure your life and its shining legacy you left behind for those to remember and to aspire to become as good a citizen as you were in representing those who trusted in you. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

October 16, 2013

Life is a shadowy, strange and winding road. For police officers who have to constantly and on a consistent basis deal with the public welfare, one never can assume anything. You lived your life and career, Officer Cook, by these virtues and these virtues were the impetus in the beginning of your police career with the Metro-Dade Police Department. An unassuming no nonsense officer you always challenged yourself and the other officers in your ranks to be the very best they could become. The winding road you patrolled now takes on a very different dimension. It leads to God's golden streets where your main task is to observe those diligently brave officers continue in their battle against evil, to rein in those whose aim is to keep peace and unity from taking shape in the community where you excelled in formulating peace, unity and good will among all people. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

October 16, 2013

I meant to say, Officer Cook, your parents made sure to properly instill confidence and certainty in all your ways as well as Nancy's too. Like phantoms painted on the magic slide, forth from the darkness of the past we glide, as living shadows for a moment seen in airy pageant on the eternal screen, traced by a ray from on unchanging flame, then seek the dust and stillness where we came. There are no magic formulas that will bring you back with us, Officer Cook. I wish they existed, but for the prompt and quality service you provided Dade County citizens, we can visualize what you stood for, the proper dignity you carried with your badge and the uniform you proudly wore for six years. When they show you face and that smile at the Police Memorial at Tropical Park in Miami, we can all look back, cry and yet remember all the good memories of a life that was well-lived, well thought out and planned in a very fitting manner. As it says in both the Old and the New Testaments, unto dust shall you return. Your precious and beautiful soul has gone on to do what Our creator now has assigned for you and your comrades who have made the ultimate sacrifice. Be that "eternal shadow" watching over those officers who serve and protect us in the most dignified manner as you so solemnly and faithfully executed during your career. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. Keep the reservoir of unity and peace flowing perpetually from the heavens above.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

October 16, 2013

A life of leisure and a life of laziness are two things, but without discipline, there is no life at all. You had the proper discipline to achieve all that you set out to accomplish in this world, Officer Cook. You exhibited the morals to properly carry out your solemn duties towards Dade County and its residents. Life is a great joy and a grand bundle of little things. It was these little things and even the most mundane situations that made you the top notch Metro-Dade Police Officer your friends, family and colleagues all grew to get acquainted with. Discipline is like the disciple, in that if the proper message is not decoded, all sorts of bedlam could rear its ugliness in our society. You got a handle on this for six years, now it is up to those who succeeded you to carry this assignment out with the same grace, honor, dignity and proper respect you demanded from other officers. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. Police work is not the time to sit back leisurely and in a lazy manner which some of today's officers sadly exhibit thus endangering the lives of their comrades and those civilians they take that affirmation to serve and to protect. We all recognize when it was time for you to go to your job, you gave your department, your division one hundred percent solid and quality service to be remembered by all people. You stood tall in a crisis period and backed up your comrades with that same loyalty and enthusiasm.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

October 14, 2013

We are but shadows: we are not endowed with real life and all that seems most real about us is but the thinnest substance of a dream-, till the heart be touched. That touch creates us-then we begin to be-thereby we are beings of reality and inheritors of eternity. Police officers are not that much different from all people. They just yearn to do and to accomplish a much more greater task at hand-to serve and to protect. You did this very well, Officer Cook. Your dreams, your hard earned commitment to defend us in times of strife and calm along with that ever present million dollar smile and calming voice of reason gives us all hope that someday we'll be reunited with you in those heavenly shadows where you and approximately twenty-one thousand other brave souls reside to continue the watch from above. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. You touched plenty of souls during your life and career, tragically cut way too short by a person who went beyond the grounds of sanity and took away your liberties that even all officers do enjoy with their partners and loving families.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

October 14, 2013

Life is made up of sobs, sniffles and smiles, with sniffles predominating. While growing up, Officer Cook, your loving family experienced all of these times and when your life was tragically taken the sobs took over as you were eulogized as a great man, humble, lovable and even more a huge hero to all. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. The good times, the happy times, the sad times were the moments those who knew you shared and now remember very well. Your actions on May 16, 1979, spurred the creation of a better environment in Liberty City, along with newer buildings for its citizens to live and prosper. I'm sure they would all thank you for your courage. Desire, determination and devotion were words in your police vocabulary and words we could all live by today.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

October 14, 2013

We live by desire to live, we live by choice; by will, by thought, by virtue, by the vivacity of the laws which we obey and obeying share their life,-or we die by sloth, by disobedience, by losing hold of life which ebbs out of us. Your lived your entire life, Officer Cook, by faith and the principles of honest, moral and ethical conduct, which is why your distinguished police career helped to enhance Dade County and its citizens of which you took a solemn affirmation to serve and to protect. Your desire to live was short circuited by a young man who lost touch with reality and this not only is very tragic, but was a tremendous loss to your family and to your community. You'll not be forgotten for your courage, bravery and tenacious leadership. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. Your effort to assist people in obedience is the sign for us to obey those laws and regulations which govern our conducts.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

October 14, 2013

A life of leisure and a life of laziness are two things. Without discipline, there's no life at all. For twenty-five years of understanding, humility, dignity and grace there for sure was more than enough and plenty more in your accomplished life and career, Officer Cook, one man's lack of discipline, lack of proper behavior cost you your dear life. A life that was chronicled by many moments of joy, fulfillment and much more to offer this world. God determines our life and length of our days, so it is very vital to utilize each moment carefully and to a positive degree. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. Your loving parents mad sure both you and Nancy had this trait of proper conduct instilled in you as youngsters so when you grew up and became a Metro- Dade Police Officer, your teachers knew you were going to be a source of dignity and integrity to your community that you loved patrolling, serving and protecting.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

October 13, 2013

We live amid surfaces and the true art of life is to skate well on them. It is the depth at which we live and not at all the surface extension that imparts. Fill my hour, oh God, so that I may not say, while I have done this, behold, also an hour of my life is gone-but rather, I have lived an hour. You lived, Officer Cook, by principles and proper conduct that is expected from all of us. Police officers are expected to act accordingly at all times and your sacrifice demonstrates this trait to the utmost. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. Every breath you took, expanded the scope and intrinsic beauty of this world and it shall never be forgotten.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

October 12, 2013