“DC Cooke” (Charles Douglas Cooke, Jr.)
May 31, 1985 – March 31, 2025 | Age 41 | LaVerkin, UT
With both heartfelt sorrow and gracious relief, “DC Cooke” (Charles Douglas Cooke, Jr.) left this Earth for his next adventure on March 31, 2025. His spirit, joy, and memories live on in the hearts and the minds of his many family members and friends, weaving us together always.
DC was an intelligent, resourceful dreamer who could dream and re-dream a project and convince you to buy into the validity of the dream before you ever had a chance to consider the logistics. DC’s dreams were of the possibilities of creating plans where everyone was included and where everyone could win.
Once DC learned your name, he considered you to be a candidate for immediate entry into claimed kinship. Meeting you was an opportunity to swap stories, to line up a new adventure, and to ensure you knew what spectacular bit of nature, hot springs, or event was now on your horizon. DC loved to invite you into his world to share time, gatherings, music, adventure, and his absolute favorite – yummy food.
Music was the ever-present soundtrack to an experience with DC. Indeed, music was a defining element of spending time with him, lasting well beyond the fleeting moment and linking together the memories of his experiences. Loud, soft, strong, carefully curated, or divinely and fortuitously found, music fed DC’s soul and flowed into all parts of his life.
DC deeply understood the gift of life, often stating that the hard times were worth it because of the really good moments, such as savoring sunsets with Katie, exploring nature with his family, and enjoying fabulous meals with those he loved. Having struggled with health complications for most of his adult life, DC decided to live to the fullest with the time he had. DC loved doing things like hiking to hot springs in the middle of the night, with only the full moon to light the way. He was always in search of new canyons, hidden waterfalls, festivals, and hidden gem restaurants, and he couldn’t wait to take you along to visit them. DC was always ready to go: to somewhere already explored but remarkable, to somewhere new, or to somewhere with you. DC taught us to cherish the little moments and to celebrate the milestones of life.
Rocks were a whole separate adventure with DC. There was always enough time to go for a wander to see which rocks were in his orbit. A few minutes would become whatever time it took to wander through the area, as there was no rushing life when it came to rocks. There was always enough space for rocks too. With DC, you could find them in the pockets of the car doors, in any spare container, in any otherwise empty pocket, and, on the lucky days, the whole back end of a vehicle (preferably his Jeep).
DC’s spirit and love of adventure is being carried on by the loves of his life: his most beloved wife, Katie (Blackmore) Cooke, his adored children, Daejha and Baedric, his Pops, Charles Douglas Cooke Sr., his siblings, and his many, many claimed family members and friends.
DC has joined his mom, Laurie Jan (Stubbs) Cooke, in the Spirit World, to keep the promises he has made, and to search out new adventures – and the truly spectacular things – for those of us who remain. As in this life, we know that when our times come, he will be there, fired up and ready to greet us with, “You’ve got to see this!”
In lieu of flowers, DC’s final wish was that the home he was creating for his family could be completed. Any donations, building materials, and volunteer work towards this project will be greatly appreciated. Donations may be sent to: Cashapp $KatieJCooke or Venmo @Katiecooke85. Building supplies and volunteer work can be coordinated by contacting DC’s brother, Jimmy Cooke or via email: [email protected]
**A Memorial Service for DC will be held on
his upcoming Birthday: Saturday, May 31, 2025**
– more details to come –
For Memorial Service updates, please send an email to [email protected]
