Joseph Richard Scherrman Cook

Joseph Richard Scherrman Cook Joe Cook was born in 1993, and lived in the Wheaton, Illinois area the first 22 years of his life. He enjoyed playing sports including soccer, wrestling, baseball and football. Joe graduated from Wheaton North High School in 2011, and worked a number of jobs in the Chicago area before landing a job with Painters USA in July of 2013. Joe started working as a warehouse assistant then was promoted to work as a commercial painter. In 2015, he transferred to the Dallas – Fort Worth region and worked his way up to Industrial Foreman. He loved working at heights and the chemistry and science behind the painting of the Industrial work. At the age of 25, Joe was one of the youngest to study for and pass his NACE 1 (National Association of Corrosion Engineers) Inspector certification. In January of 2020, he was promoted to Field Supervisor where he lived his passion of serving his fellow painters, which he considered his family. Joe loved the outdoors and had a passion for hunting and fishing. He also loved animals, adopting three dogs from shelters over the years. His dream was to own a nice piece of land and to use that land to open up a rescue ranch for dogs. He was a diehard fan of the Chicago Blackhawks and loved professional soccer. Joe proposed to and received a "yes" from his Fiancé, Felicia Mancillas, on May 2nd 2019. Joe loved his bonus son Noah more than anything. Joe's heart was larger than the universe. He was passionate about becoming a Dad, growing a family and extremely determined about teaching Noah to be a strong and respectful man. His words of advice were “Can't, Never, Could”. If you think you can't you will never live up to the potential you could. More than anything, Joe loved his sister Casey, and his brothers, Dan and Brad. He looked up to them, was proud of their accomplishments and always looked forward to the next family event. Joe was proceeded in death by his grandfathers, Richard Cook and Patrick Scherrman, and his Aunt Kathy Cook. Joe is survived by his Parents, Paul and Margaret “Meg” Cook, His Fiancé Felicia Mancillas and her son Noah Jaxon. His brothers, Daniel Cook and Brad Cook, his sister Cassandra “Casey” Cook Raevsky and brother-in-law Ben Raevsky and nephew Ezra Raevsky. Joseph is also survived by his grandmothers, Marilyn Cook and Betty Anne Scherrman, along with 8 Uncles, 8 Aunts and 35 cousins. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Joe Cook Remembrance Fund Friends and family of Joe Cook. Below is a letter written by Jackie Scherrman, Joe's first cousin once removed. Jackie is a Doctor in Honduras and in this letter details the destruction and devastation that hurricanes Eta and Iota recently left in their wake. Joe loved people, family and most of all kids. His Remembrance Fund will be donated to help the families of Honduras begin to recover from this unprecedented loss. You will find giving instructions at the bottom of this letter. Thank so much for passing Joe's memory forward. He loved all of you. God Bless. Paul & Meg Cook. San Pedro Sula, Honduras November 18, 2020 Dear Friends, Family and those we´ve yet to meet, It´s just before dawn as I sit down to write this, listening to the incessant rain pounding on our tin roofs as Hurricane Iota slowly passes through Honduras, leaving behind a path of destruction far worse than that left by Hurricane Eta only two weeks ago. I can´t even begin to try to make a statistical assessment of damage and loss, but it is breathtaking and heart wrenching to even try to imagine. Two weeks ago during Hurricane Eta, most communities were taken by surprise by flash floods, extending to so many areas that had never been flooded or had never seen floods of this proportion. People were awakened at 5am to water that rose to shoulder level within a half an hour. Some managed to get out, while others found refuge on the rooftops of homes not totally submerged or on the second floor of homes they could reach. Other groups swarmed to small hills that quickly became islands, surrounded by raging waters. Unfortunately, because of the culture of violence and insecurity here, most homes are secured with bars on windows and doors, which turned their homes into cages, trapping people inside. While some were pulled out through the roof by neighbors, many are still not accounted for, because the area even before this 2nd hurricane was still buried in deep muddy waters. Rescue attempts have been extremely difficult, because small rescue boats were either caught in the current or rammed into large debris and capsized, and even when they were able to reach the rooftops, getting people on the boats was difficult because of the currents. Thousands of people in different communities were stranded on rooftops for 2 – 3 days, others still stranded or cut off from food supplies or other assistance up to 10 days after the storm. Fortunately, because of Hurricane Eta, most people in the flood areas were already set up to stay in homes of friends or family in others parts of the city, in shelters, schools, office buildings and churches, and thousands of others under makeshift tents along the highways or under bridges, the mandatory evacuation for Hurricane Iota a lot easier. Three beautiful sunny days before that made it hard to believe this second hurricane would be so bad. But what Eta didn't destroy as far as infrastructure, Iota has come to finish off, wiping out roads and bridges all over the country and flooding areas that had been spared by Eta. After Eta, as soon as the waters subsided, older children and adults trudged back into their neighborhood knee deep in mud and debris to assess the damage and begin shoveling. After long days of strenuous work, along the highway at night, you might think at first glance that it is the middle of the state fair, as roadsides are packed with families visiting around makeshift tents and lines of cars parked along the road with trunks open and passing out food they prepared at home to share with those left homeless. However, with a closer look, you notice that families have brought with them all kinds of items they´ve tried to salvage from the mud, including mattresses, refrigerators, stoves, furniture, clothing, baby dolls, children's toys, dishes, etc… most still covered in mud, all with the hopes to be able to clean them up, dry them out and get them working again. This morning, in the aftermath of Hurricane Iota, those homes recently cleared out are flooded again, with flood waters higher than that of Eta. Three days after the Hurricane Eta, a mother and two children who were staying at our nephew´s home were anxiously awaiting the arrival of the father of the family, who had been stranded on a roof top for three days. He seemed to be in shock and didn´t talk much, and I later learned that before getting out he had managed to get to their family's home to check it out. The roof was gone and they had lost everything. He didn't know how to break that news to his wife, who was clinging to the hope that it wasn´t that bad. For the moment, the children were satisfied to hug their dad and to play with the family dog, who the dad had managed to save. Actually, going back to save the dog was the reason he ended up trapped in the floods. Pets are so important in moments of so much sorrow. One mother who had been stranded with her 3-­‐year-­‐ old daughter and a son, for 3 days on a small hill that became an island and refuge to hundreds, without water, food or electricity, remained incredibly strong the first week, helping others clean up and shovel mud, because she couldn´t get close to her own home. But the day she did, she finally broke down sobbing for the first time, to see that everything was destroyed. But she cried harder when she found their dog Rocky, who had perished in the flood waters. She had hoped that he made it out alive and would come wandering home any day. After Hurricane Eta, when delivering food packages to one area, Doña Alba´s eyes filled with tears when she greeted us. Though she was grateful for the package, what she really wanted was to show us her home and tell her story. Along with her son and grandson, they had spent the last 10 days trying to shovel out mud and decide what was worth trying to salvage. The backyard was gone and the creek below was spotted with people from the other side, washing furniture, pillows, chairs, mattresses, etc. A silo from a farm upstream was laying below and a line of houses along the other riverbank were gone. Amidst all the devastation her voice broke and tears flowed when she pointed to the spot where her 8 rabbits and 27 bunnies had lived. She told me in great length how much she loved those rabbits and had recently helped deliver their bunnies. Then she wiped her tears, sniffled a bit, looked around and said almost apologetically, listen to me, with all this mess, crying over a bunch of rabbits. Those lucky enough to have boots, are literally picking themselves up by their bootstraps. Those who don´t, do so in muddy tennies, sandals, thongs or barefoot. Those feet, swollen, blistered and infected. But everyone gets busy trying to clean up and figure out how to make a new start. As you can imagine, there are endless needs for anything from shovels, wheelbarrows and cleaning supplies to medicine and medical attention, food, clothing, shoes, beds, blankets, towels, stoves, refrigerators and so on. The reality for many families is that their entire extended family was left homeless or is digging their home out of the mud and has lost everything inside. For example, Walter, a construction worker and single father of 4, lived as a squatter in one area that was totally wiped out. His sister and mother also lived in a neighborhood that was completely flooded and his adult son in another that was also destroyed. So the entire family is taking shelter in the classroom of a nearby school and waiting for the rains to subside in order to start putting the pieces of their lives back together again. I´m sharing these stories because so many of you have asked if there is any way you can help, and yes, together we can get help directly to families. One-person alone can´t do that much, but together I know we can make a big difference in helping a lot of families get back on their feet. Dina and I have several contacts with people in the different flood areas here, many of whom have been affected themselves, but who also are busy making contacts to get help to families who are in an even more vulnerable situation than themselves. So it is easy to make things multiply! Any donations small or large can be sent to my cousin Meg Cook at Painters USA, with checks written out to The Joe Cook Remembrance Fund and a note on the bottom, Honduran Relief, and she will keep track of donations and get them to me. Her address is: Meg Cook c/o Painters USA, Inc., Glendale Heights, IL 60139 Or use this GoFundMe link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/joe-cook-remembrance-fund Our deepest gratitude to family and friends who have already donated so generously, and to our Puerto Rican friends in Miami, who have reached out willingly and generously to help, knowing too well this kind of devastation after Hurricane Maria in 2017. We are truly grateful and promise to see to it that your support reaches families directly. Sincerely, Jackie Scherrman (Cousin of Joe Cook) and Dina Rosales.