Family, Friends & Fellow Officers Remember...

In this age of global spirituality, respect differences but affirm commonalities. Work together with those who are trying to make the world a better place. Police officers such as yourself, Officer Cook, keeping working harder and harder each day to make their communities safer. It's because of men and women such as yourself, who make the ultimate sacrifices are we finally able to realize our hopes, goals, aspirations and dreams. Your visions of yesterday are our where our sights are set for tomorrow. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

April 9, 2013

Welcome the positive changes that took place in your life. I would say to this that because of your sacrifice, Officer Cook, officers in Dade County now have the side-panels that were not there when you served. Obviously, death is always sorrowful and we are sorrowful over your untimely death, Officer Cook. But your wonderful soul breathes life into all your loved ones. God has opened His windows for a little fresh air and His wholeness and healing are waiting in His wings as He awaited for your ascending up His ladder. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

April 9, 2013

Be willing to learn from the spiritual teachers all around you, however unlikely or unlike you they may be. Always be a sensitive student. You were always a good student and possessed the acumen to gain more insight from those you admired and wanted to learn from. You played the drums in high school, so you had to have an inner feeling and appreciation for the fine arts. Your humbleness, Officer Cook, was a very good way of exhibiting your dignity and integrity so essential in your position of fair and just treatment to all citizens you served. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

April 9, 2013

Rejoice and be exceedingly glad. Find this divine energy in your daily life and share it with others. You shared this Officer cook, with one of the most important person in your life, your beloved wife, Karen. For several wonderful years you enjoyed each other's company and set your priorities in order. You understood each other and the sacrifices the two of you had to make for one another. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

April 9, 2013

Give imagination free rein in your life. Explore its images and ponder its meaning-making moments and it will always present you with something new to be seen, felt or made known. As an amateur photographer, Officer Cook, your vivid mind and sense of the outdoors served to allow you to be free a bit while off duty. You enjoyed your quiet times like any other officer and it showed. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

April 9, 2013

Practice hospitality in a world where too often strangers are feared, enemies are hated and the "other" is shunned. Welcome guests and alien ideas with graciousness. Your parents and you and Karen, Officer Cook, always had your doors open and available to host parties and other happy occasions. It's a shame you are not with us physically to greet and embrace your friends, but we know you are greeting your friends in God's heavenly palace along with your father, Charles, as you rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. always

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

April 9, 2013

Let this positive and potent emotion fuel your dreams and support your service of others. Through your attitudes and actions, encourage others never to lose hope. The ever present optimist, you always fought for and wanted others to succeed through your inspiration, Officer Cook. The charming charismatic person you were defined the quality of loyalty you displayed while on duty serving your community. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

April 9, 2013

Spell out your days with a grammar of gratitude. Be thankful for all the blessings in your life. And you were Officer Cook. And we should all be too for having you with us for twenty-five wonderful years of endeavor. You changed a lot of lives for a positive result and this needs to be taken notice of. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. The last word of this reflection spells out the gentleness of your upstanding character. HERO!

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

April 9, 2013

Accept grace and your world will be larger, deeper, richer and fuller. Look for its intimations everywhere. Let this seed of the Giver of Life bloom in your words and very deeds. Officer Cook, you were a man of your word and your parents knew the quality son that they raised to uphold the ideas and themes central to growing up with values, values so often missing in today's modern society. You always gave of yourself as did Karen and this is what life is about. Us, we and our have replaced I, my and me. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. Your horizons were much more broader than that of most individuals and this helped you maintain your humility.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

April 9, 2013

In both your private and public lives, discover the sweet release that comes from forgiving others. Feel the healing balm of being forgiven and of forgiving yourself. I'm sure as even-tempered and as a mild mannered gentleman that you were Officer Cook, it was easy to find forgiveness in everyone. Your calming demeanor was very evident from your first day on the job and until your last watch, trying your utmost to defuse a difficult situation. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

April 9, 2013

Recognize and accept that there is another dimension to life than what is obvious to us. Live with obstacles, doubt and paradox, knowing that God is always present in the world. You lived by these theme, Officer Cook and it is what carried you in your career and made you the man you grew up to become. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

April 9, 2013

As duly sworn officers, it is your duty to help not only protect a community, but to assist in building it up too and not hold anything back. You celebrated your life, Officer Cook, with this intoxicating passion and it increased your zest in everything you touched, came across and crossed paths with. I'm sure you are exhibiting eternal zeal that will always beam down on those who knew and loved you fiercely. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

April 9, 2013

Express your feelings of praise and adoration through devotional practices. Pray with words and pray through your actions. One thing your department did on May 16, 1979, was to pray for you, Officer Cook, that you would pull through. Nevertheless, you were the apple of your wife, Karen's eyes and the apple of your beloved family's too. Your heroic act of bravery will always be spoken of and perhaps it is utilized in training sessions at the Police academy for future officers to examine and to learn from. Your spirituality was something to be humble and yet proud of. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

April 9, 2013

Yesterday, as I was driving with my wife, Holly and some seminary ladies we picked up at Miami Airport, we drove north on NW 27th Avenue, I said why don't we turn at NW 75th Street and drive by to NW 17th Ave. I was going to show her and the ladies the street sign in your honor. "Officer William C. Cook Street." Very fitting for such a classy humanitarian who reached out and connected with so many people from all walks of life. And this is exactly how your life was intimately related to all life on this planet. I always refer to you as my friend and neighbor even though we, never had the pleasure to meet and greet one another. If your mother, Mrs. Julia Cook, at age ninety-five could take the time to write to me and refer to me as this, I certainly can refer to you, Officer Cook, her darling son by this name as well. Rest in peace.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

April 9, 2013

Open your heart, mind and soul to the pain and suffering in the world. Reach out to others and discover the rewards and obligations of deep feeling. A man of principle and character, you reached out to all who needed you, Officer Cook. Now as you rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero, let us reach out far and wide and remember your pious ways in which you made this land a better place for all to achieve.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

April 9, 2013

Live in the present moment. Don't obsess about the past or worry about the future. All you need is right here. That's exactly how a truly righteous individual as yourself, Officer Cook and your beloved wife, Karen, lived exemplary lives together in the holy bond of matrimony. So supportive of the other's career and believe me, she misses you today, even though I understand she remarried after being your widow for over thirty years. Never far away from our hearts and minds. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

April 8, 2013

Walk the path of beauty. relish and encourage its inward and outward expressions. Acknowledge the radiance of the creation. You experienced many joys in your twenty-five years, Officer Cook and because of a dastardly act perpetrated upon your innocence, the world is devoid of a brilliant diamond such as you. But your soul will forever shine brightly in God's everlasting firmament. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

April 8, 2013

Life is a sacred adventure. Everyday we encounter signs that point to the active presence of Spirit in the world around us. Something you always observed on duty, that was to pay attention and totally alert and look with receptive eyes and discover a world of ceaseless wonders. As many have noted about you, Officer Cook, you were among the wisest and more mature than your years and it was demonstrated by the high caliber service that you provided the citizens of Dade County. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

April 8, 2013

Goodwill is the mightiest practical force in the universe. Opportunities to express that energy are everywhere. And it was your goodwill and good name, Officer Cook, that brought countless joy and pleasure to all others. Your legacy is forever etched on a marble wall of honor at Tropical Park in Miami with your colleagues who gave their lives as well. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

April 8, 2013

Love sure is all about life and an endless act of forgiveness. Bitterness imprisons life, love releases it. The first duty of love is the act of listening. Loving can cost a lot, but not loving can cost more. A righteous man such as you, Officer Cook, is cautious in friendship. friendship cheers like a sunbeam; charms like a good story; inspires like a brave leader, binds like a golden chain; guides like a heavenly vision. In a friend you find a second self and two bodies in which a single soul drifts. The reward of friendship is itself. The man who hopes for anything else does not understand what true friendship is. A true friend is like the refrain of a beautiful song. friends help see us through both good and bad times. Friends give value to survival. Two friends are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor: For if they fall one will lift up his companion. Your colleagues helped pick each other up after your sacrifice, Officer Cook. A faithful friend is an image of God. Fate chooses our relatives, we choose our friends. To summarize your friendship with everyone you came across Officer Cook, you truly were well respected and very much loved and we honor your commitment to Dade County and its citizens. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

April 6, 2013

Love and kindness are never wasted. They always make a difference. They bless the one who receives them and they bless you, the giver. You loved everyone Officer Cook, for who they were. Your family, friends, and peers still love and miss you greatly this day and have never forgotten your brave actions on their behalf. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

April 6, 2013

Endurance is not just the ability to bear a hard thing, but to turn it into glory and wherever you go, go with your whole heart. After what you experienced, Officer Cook, we still can feel the pain and torment and the agony of losing you at such a young age with still all the promise and brightness of your very soul still ahead of you. You had so much more to give back to this community, but you'll never be forgotten for turning a somber day in your department into an upbeat one for saving your comrades and the two civilians who might not be here if not for your heroism. No one can ever come close to the courage and tenacity you displayed on May 16, 1979, ever. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

April 4, 2013

The fingers of God touch your life when you touch a friend. You touched so many lives in your twenty-five years my neighbor, friend and hero, Officer Cook. It would take forever to count all those so privileged to have made your acquaintance. Rest in peace.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

April 4, 2013

You had a reason to arise like a lion each morning, Officer Cook and this gave you the purpose to succeed as it was one of your principal tasks during your lifetime to discover this purpose in which you firmly planted a foundation. Your spirituality and that of Karen's made your marriage as wonderful as it could be and she knew your service to your community and her service in helping patients feel better would make you better persons for it. Your calling as a police officer, Officer Cook, was the certified reason you could give to yourself without a reservation that created a passionate desire for excellence, to be your best, which you exhibited each moment of your watch. This calling was what you did and more. You took an incredible gift: the power of choice and did precisely as one would do with morals and ethics, differentiate between right and wrong. You and Karen prioritized all your decisions and you both brought not just stability to your home, but the most important asset: Integrity. You both stood your grounds by the honorable methods of your existences and truly enjoyed carrying them out ever so faithfully. Nine core values are central in not just a marriage, but in your chosen endeavors: diligence, team player, hard worker, perseverance, courage, treats others well, patriotism, family closeness and excellence, not just from the lips but by using our bodies properly to do our tasks at hand. Love, joy, peace, gentleness and self-control were also many of the same core values shared by the two of you. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. Truly par excellence!

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

April 4, 2013

Human beings require stories to give meaning to the facts of their existence. If we could write a book of your wonderful and humble life, Officer Cook, the first place to begin would be with the excellent upbringing you and your sister, Nancy experienced by your loving parents. And then your childhood and your younger days growing up in North Miami Beach, Florida. The progress you gained is the crowning achievement by which you will ultimately will be judged and is the gospel of trying to be a better person and leave the world a better place. Your heavenly reward Officer Cook is this trait as you rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero in the palms of God's hands.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

April 4, 2013