Edward N. Cook, Jr. 'Tad' — Las Cruces, N.M.

Edward N. Cook Jr. "Tad" passed away Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2013, in Las Cruces, N.M., where he had been living on his nearby ranch for many years. He sold his ranch in 2010 and moved to an Assisted Living location in Las Cruces. Tad grew up in Rochester at the family home, near Mayowood, which also included a working farm, and here began his lifelong interest in horses and cattle. Many of his summers were spent dividing time between a ranch in Wyoming and Ten Mile Lake in northern Minnesota.

He loved hockey and played for an early Rochester Youth Hockey team, known as the Bamber Valley Bombers, and later at Choate where he attended prep school in Wallingford, Conn.

He graduated from the University of Colorado in Boulder, and from this time on his favorite hobby was calf roping. His initial career in banking included early years as a bank examiner in Phoenix, Ariz., and Casper, Wyo., and then as a bank manager in Wheatland, Wyo. But ranching was his true love and this took him to Arizona, Wyoming, California and Colorado before eventually buying his own ranch in New Mexico.

Tad is preceded in death by his parents, Dr. and Mrs. Edward N. Cook of Rochester.

He is survived by his daughter, Kimberly Jean Cook and his former wife, Dawn Harman Cook, both of Morgan Hill, Calif.; his sisters, Margaret Cook Berndt of Charlottesville and Nancy Cook Nelson of Denver; cousins, Thomas R. Moore of Edina, Vicki Moore Fagerlee of Wayzata, Dr. Robert Mathews of Omaha and William Mathews of Arkansas; and very special friend, Karen Oliver of Las Cruces and formerly of Rochester. He is also survived by brother-in-laws and many nieces, nephews and one grand-nephew.

An informal celebration of life was held in Las Cruces, N.M., Tuesday, Nov. 5.

Donations in Tad's memory are suggested to Cowboys for Cancer (C4CR), P.O. Box 02, Dona Ana, NM 88032.