Jim Cook, 86

Jim LeRoy Cook, DVM, 86, passed away peacefully Sept. 21, 2023, in Spokane Valley, Wash., after a brief health battle. He was a resident of Reardan, Wash., at the time of his passing.

Dr. Cook was born April 24, 1937, in Polson, Mont., the eldest of four children of Josephine Mae (Keller) Cook and Jim Richard Cook. He is survived by his brother, Ronald F. Cook (Coulee Dam); son John Cook (Spokane, Wash.) and daughter Joan (Cook) Smith-Bator (Ellensburg, Wash.). He is predeceased by his parents; a brother, Richard L. Cook, lost in childhood; one sister, Donna Mae Cook; and his former wife and mother of his children, Jeralyn M. Hagy (Cook) Bourne.

Jim grew up in Grand Coulee, Wash., where he attended elementary and high school. He continued his education at Central Washington College (now CWU), and then Louisiana State University, where he majored in chemistry. He was employed by Dow Chemical in Baton-Rouge, La. He returned to the Inland Northwest to earn his Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from Washington State University, 1967, having completed all of his higher education with high honors.

Dr. Cook was licensed to practice Veterinary Medicine, Dentistry and Surgery in Oregon, Idaho and Washington and stood out among his colleagues for his surgical skills. As a veterinarian, he resided in Liberty Lake, Wash., and Post Falls, Idaho. He was a member of the Washington State Veterinary Medical Association and President of the Inland Empire Veterinary Medicine Association in 1975. During his private practice, he also served as the veterinarian for the Greyhound Racetrack, Stateline, Idaho. His veterinary practice was in Post Falls, Idaho, from which he retired, having specialized in larger farm animals. He lived in Hayden, Idaho, following retirement, then eventually built and settled in Reardan on 100 acres of farmland.

Aside from his profession, he earned ribbons showing his horse and also owned a racehorse, "OK Pass." Along with his dedication to animals, he developed an avid interest in falconry, flying and hunting primarily with gyrfalcons most of his life, until his passing. He served as the first North Pacific Director for the North American Falconers Association (NAFA) and was a member of two state clubs — the Idaho Falconers Association and Washington Falconer's Association.

Memorial donations are invited to the Archives of Falconry to add a commemorative plaque to the Wall of Remembrance in Boise, Idaho: www.falconry.org/donate_support/remembrance; or USPS mail to: Archives of Falconry; Wall of Remembrance, 5668 W. Flying Hawk Lane, Boise, ID 83709.