‘He gave more than he took’
There was something insistent in Jan Cook’s personality, says his son.
It’s as if a yearning to do the right thing for his community could not be contained.
“Something inside of him was built-in to help his community,” said Cook’s son Adam. “He loved the city, Niagara, and he loved giving back. I think he gave more than he took from this community, which is a wonderful thing.
“He loved fundraising, which was a passion for him.”
Cook, 68, a notable Niagara entrepreneur and community fundraising stalwart, died early Friday morning from complications due to cancer.
He was surrounded by family at his south St. Catharines home.
Cook is best known as the principal of Credit Bureau Services Canada, a company he bought in 1985 from his father’s estate.
He was also a campaign co-chair who led a fundraising drive of more than $40 million towards the Niagara Health System’s “It’s Our Time” campaign.
According to a recent Rotary Club tribute, his other community capital campaigns have involved raising $4.5 million for the Alzheimer Society of Niagara’s new facility in St. Catharines and $2.5 million for the St. Catharines Seymour-Hannah arena.
His fundraising efforts have also benefitted Gillian’s Place, the Sexual Assault Centre, and Community Care of St. Catharines and Thorold.
Cook had also given his time to various boards serving CAA Niagara, the St. Catharines Club, and the St. Catharines Golf and Country Club.
Earlier this year, he was handed a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Niagara Entrepreneur of the Year Awards in Niagara Falls. The honour was one of many he’d received over his life.
Son Adam Cook said his father passed away “in our arms, it was very peaceful.”
Adam said his father never formally retired from the Credit Bureau business and its operations, which now has son Steve Cook as its president.
“I don’t think he ever would have retired,” said Adam. “He loved the business community, being part of St. Catharines that way, and connected to entrepreneurs and business people, the Chamber of Commerce and different associations.”
He was … a grizzly bear with a big, warm heart. And I know (of so many) people he helped anonymously who needed help. He did it with the expectation of never getting anything back.” Niagara lawyer Bill Heelis
“People would say you should slow down ‘Cookie’ you should retire, he’d say ‘no I’m not doing that.’”
While he held many highprofile roles in the community, “dad’s greatest accomplishments are all the little things he did for people that no one knows about,” Adam said.
Cook also publicly supported his daughter after controversial comments about homosexuality by a Niagara politician.
“My daughter and her wife and their two boys are very precious to me,” he wrote in a passionate 2015 column published by The Standard.
“It is time that I stand up for the best cause I know of, and that is to stand up and be heard on behalf of my family.”
Adam said his father was proud of his family: “It was first and foremost for him, above everything.”
Longtime friends also remember Jan Cook fondly.
Niagara lawyer Bill Heelis was friends with Cook since they were 12, and both went to school at Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School together in south St. Catharines.
“He was a bigger than life personality,” said Heelis, recalling that Cook — a superb football player — tried out for the former Ottawa Roughriders CFL football team after high school.
He returned to the family business in St. Catharines and eventually took it over and grew the business.
“Jan was a legendary fundraiser with an amazing ability to be able to raise money for good causes in the community, particularly the Niagara Hospital System.”
Cook was a “caring, wonderful person and tremendously loyal to his family and friends,” Heelis said.
“He had a born, take-charge personality. If something had to get done, Jan would rally around and get it done.
“He’d pull in others in the community to help him out,” he said. “He was a commanding person, a big man. When he walked in the room his presence was felt verbally as well as physically.”
“He was … a grizzly bear with a big, warm heart,” Heelis said. “And I know (of so many) people he helped anonymously who needed help. He did it with the expectation of never getting anything back.”
Businessman Archie Katzman was also friends with Cook for more than 40 years. “Jan was very much involved and it is a great loss for the community, the city, Katzman said.
“Cookie was a great guy … and I am saddened at that young age to see him go. We’ve got a lot of fond memories.”
City of St. Catharines Mayor Walter Sendzik spoke of losing “a community icon.”
“He stood for what building communities is all about,” Sendzik said. The Mayor said Cook was not only personally a philanthropist, he also motivated others “to see how giving back is how you build communities.”
“Jan was a very special man. His heart and spirit are going to be very hard to replace.”
Mike Watt described Cook as a “dedicated member of our (NHS) Foundation family for many years as a fundraising volunteer, board member, supporter, and driving force behind the Its Our Time campaign”
“His record of volunteer service puts him into a league of his own as a community champion,” said said Watt, executive vice-president of Walker Environmental Group and past chair of One Foundation for Niagara Health System.
“It did not matter what the cause was, Jan would jump right in and get things done,” Watt said in a statement.
“Our Foundation was privileged to be the beneficiary of that initiative. Jan truly helped shape the future of healthcare in Niagara and his legacy will live on.”
Cook is survived by his wife Lori, his four children (Steve, Adam, Amy and Gavin), and many grandchildren and other family and friends.
Funeral arrangements had not yet been made as of Friday.