Obituary of Keith Eugene Cook
Keith E. Cook was born on July 23rd in Sioux City, Iowa and peacefully passed away in his sleep on April 12, 2019. Keith was the youngest child of Willis A. Cook and Wilma A. Scoles. After the passing of his mother at an early age, Keith was raised by his Aunt Mabel Cook, a school teacher and highly-regarded member of the school board for Oto, Iowa.
After graduating from Leeds High School, Keith, also known as “Gene” and his best friend Jack Farrin, embarked on a cross-country trip to seek their fortune in Southern California. Keith was hired by McDonnell Douglas, Inc. in Santa Monica and would entertain co-workers at break time with song and tap dance routines along with his pal Phil Fineman from Brooklyn, New York. During the “Cold War,” Keith was chosen to participate in “Project Emily” in Europe. While residing in England, he enjoyed testing the limits of his vehicle’s speedometer through narrow streets of small hamlets and villages. He traveled extensively through Ireland, Italy, Belgium, France, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands during his two-year residency. After learning that the British government was looking to extract additional tax revenue, he quickly returned to California and accepted a position with the California Almond Growers Association in sunny Sacramento. While attending Sacramento City College, he played jazz selections on his own radio show, “The Sound of Music” on KXRQ FM and had the privilege of interviewing the late great Stan Kenton.
A return to the cooler ocean breezes of Santa Monica to rejoin his former aerospace employer allowed him to attend UCLA and then to CSUN where he received his undergraduate degree in Political Science in 1977. Keith was a graduate of two law enforcement academies, Los Angeles Police Academy and the Criminal Justice Training Center at Golden West College in Huntington Beach, California. Deciding that he needed to perfect his driving skills through LA traffic, he became a reserve officer with LAPD and proudly served for nine years, then accepted a position with the State of California Department of Insurance. He transferred to an Investigator position with the State of California’s Department of Corporations where he valiantly fought securities fraud in countless forms and testified as an “expert witness” in many high-profile corporate securities cases. Keith received written commendations from District Attorneys in Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Riverside counties and played a prominent role in numerous multi-state sting operations involving securities fraud. His final position was with the Department of Managed Health Care where his expertise was key in investigating health care fraud.
From 2001 to 2008, Keith was elected to serve as President of the California Association of Fraud Investigators (CAFI). He also served on the Board of Directors for California Statewide Law Enforcement Association (CSLEA) and assisted in preparing legislation that successfully provided greater retirement options for peace officers.
As an avid boater and water skier, Keith enjoyed adventures on many lakes and the Colorado River with friends and family. Always the lively entertainer, he enjoyed blowing jazz renditions on his trumpet and flugelhorn, while relating many detailed and humorous stories, until they became too difficult to recall. The Cook family would like to acknowledge and express our deepest appreciation to the caretakers, medical staff and hospice personnel who assisted through his difficult path.
Keith is survived by his wife of 25 years; Pamela who became his advocate and caregiver; his three children: Keith Cook of Covington, Washington; Barbara Griess of Grand Island, Nebraska and Eric Cook of Burlington, North Carolina; five grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. Also, a young daughter Cheryln preceded him in death as well as his father and two older siblings. Services are private and memorial donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, California Central Chapter at alz.org/CaCentral.