George Cook died earlier this month at the age of 81. Below is a facsimile of the plaque that the Central chapter of the PLSO presented to George in 2011 to commemorate his 50 years of licensure as an LS. It enumerates his many achievements, but of course it does not really flesh out this one-of-a-kind Maverick and genuine eastern Or. character.
Cook was a giant of a man, like 6’5 or so, with hands the size of cast iron skillets and an ego and voice bigger than the high desert skies. Those who worked with him or dealt with him in some fashion always came away with a strong opinion about the man. He was a smart, bold and outspoken man in a profession of smart, bold and outspoken men. But, from firsthand experience, once you got past all his bluster he was a really fair and generous guy. It was just his nature to challenge all comers to size ‘em up, I suppose, and see if they’d go toe to toe with him. If you didn’t back down, you had his respect.
Cook worked tirelessly for the profession of surveying in this state. He was one of the king-pins of modernizing our state survey laws in the early 1970s. He and a couple other surveyors then traveled the state putting on seminars to help educate practitioners about these new laws and how to make their plats compliant.
I worked for him in 1977-1978 (and beerlegger “Geezer” worked for him a year or so later) and there weren’t many dull moments in his office, to say the least. In later years I had a lot of enjoyable conversations with him about survey problems and theory. After attending his service at the VFW yesterday, I learned he was a very dedicated and loving father to his four girls, even more devoted to them as they were growing up than he was to the profession of surveying as it was growing up in this state. And that’s the true measure of a man.
Mike,
Thanks for the information on George Cook. I learned to know George during the time we lived in Oregon and I was teaching at Oregon's Insititute of Technology. If I recall correctly, George was on the Board of Licensure when I got licensed there. Discussing surveying issues with George was always interesting.
Although not as flamboyant, Fred Sanchez was a "George equivalent" on the New Mexico Board of Licensure. Regretfully, Fred passed away on November 13th at the age of 78. Fred's passion was making sure engineers were aware of (and met) the qualifications for professional surveying practice. He too will be missed by many.
:plumbbob: May both of these fine Surveyors rest in peace. :plumbbob:
Fred Sanchez
I had the pleasure of meeting Fred Sanchez this past summer at the NCEES meeting in Saint Louis. He and I exchanged several emails since then and he shared some papers with me that he had written about "engineering surveys". I am shocked and saddened to learn of his passing.
"Discussing surveying issues with George was always interesting"
Nicely stated Earl. Typed, no doubt, with a sly grin and a slight wink. It’s OK, Anyone who knew Cook would understand.
I bet George and Fred Sanchez tipped a Martini or two together in passing back in the day. Same generation, same passion to elevate surveying to the professional status it deserves. We’re a quarter of the way down the road these guys were pioneering in 1971...
Mike,
You got it right! I've had the opportunity to interact with and learn from many. For that I am grateful. And, guess what, I've also learned that there is much to learn from those with whom we agree to disagree - go figure.
