William "Cookie" Cook, 71, of Saugus, passed away unexpectedly at his home on July 11th, 2023.
William was born on December 4, 1951 to Verna and Norman Cook. In his youth, he and his closest friend, Jim DiSano, used to sing Doo-wop and Motown songs on the corners of Malden Square with several other friends, which lead to many locals knowing him as "Cookie Doo-wop", and it stuck with him his whole life. He attended Malden schools and graduated from Malden High. William then went on to enlist in the US Air Force, but after completing basic training, he was medically discharged due to his asthma.
In 1972, he met the love of his life, Cheryl Weldy, and they were married in May of 1976. He was a proud and loving father to his daughter, Serina (Cook) Barr, who was born just over a year later, in August of 1977.
William loved to drive, which was apparent in his many jobs as a professional driver of trucks, buses, vans and cars, including his more recent job with Malden Transportation, where he worked for almost 30 years as a taxi and bus driver. Throughout his life, he enjoyed cooking for his family, singing, fishing, and playing darts, and later in life really enjoyed short road trips with his best friend Jason.
William was predeceased by his mother, Verna (Hurd) Cook and his father Norman Cook. He is survived by his daughter, Serina (Cook) Barr, her wife, Kristin Barr, and his grandson, Jackson Barr, his brother, Norman Cook, his wife, Judy Cook, a niece, Dawn Miller-Turnbull, and a nephew, David Cook, and many friends and coworkers that he considered family.
Visiting hours will be held at the A. J. Spadafora Funeral home, 865 Main Street, Malden on Thursday August 3rd from 5:00pm – 8:00pm. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend.