Shawn D. Cook age 24, a resident of 4137 Secor Road Apt. 227 in West Toledo,
was pronounced Dead resulting form a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head
on Saturday, December 8, 2001 by the Lucas County Coroner's office.
The incident occurred several blocks from Shawn's apartment shortly before dawn
at the Harvest Community Church, 3708 W. Laskey Road.

Mr. Cook attended Elmhurst Elementary School, De Vilbiss Jr. High and graduated
in 1995 from Rogers Senior High School. He also had attended Owens Community College,
pursuing his interest in the food industry, which reflected in a career in
several food service positions since his graduation. His most recent employment
was with Big Boy Restaurant on Secor Road. Shawn had received numerous awards
since 1999, which recognized him for his outstanding attendance and service.
He received his final award, a CEO pin, presented to Shawn on behalf of
Bennett Enterprises at his funeral service.

His mother and stepfather, Kathleen and Carl Braden Jr. of East Toledo
survive Shawn. Father, Douglas Cook of Thomasville Georgia, Sister and brother-in-law,
Sarah and Brent Beaverson of West Toledo, Brothers, Steven and Seth Cook of West Toledo
and Nicholas Cioffe of East Toledo. Also surviving are his maternal grandparents,
Doris and Elmer Balogh of West Toledo and paternal grandmother, Louise Cook
of East Toledo. Shawn has 15 aunts and uncles and many cousins.

Visitation will be held at Eggleston-Meinert Funeral Home, 440 S. Coy Road,
Oregon Ohio on Thursday from 2-9pm, where funeral services will be conducted Friday at 10:30am.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may instead be made in Shawn's memory
to the Toledo Sight Center. Shawn was born with congenital cataracts,
which rendered him legally blind. During his elementary school years Shawn received
mobility and orientation training and living skills services from the Sight Center.
Their generous help was greatly appreciated.


My precious son rests in eternal peace
safe in the arms of God in heaven.

"I love you Shawn Forever"

The Blessing of the Thorns


"Dear God, I have never thanked You for my thorns.
I have thanked you a thousand times for my roses,
but never once for my thorns.
Teach me the glory of the cross I bear;
Teach me the value of my thorns.
Show me that I have climbed closer to You along the path of pain.
Show me that, through my tears, the colors of Your rainbow look much more brilliant."

Author unknown


The above prayer was sent to my e-mail from a friend just a week prior to Shawn's death.
I didn't read the message untill after his funeral.

The blue candles represent Shawn's brothers and sister,
Steven, Seth, Sarah and Nicholas.
The white candle represents Shawn.
Ric made the wooden display
and the blue Harley Davidson scarf belonged to Shawn.
He loved Harleys. The photos are of his senior pictures.
Each candle was lit by one of Shawn's siblings
after Doug (Shawn's dad) and I lit Shawn's candle
during the final service. Together with the flames of his family,
Shawn's flame will forever shine in our hearts.


Nick's Eulogy

"To My Brother with Love"

"Not really knowing just what to say I have thought hard
and even prayed these past few nights for the right words to express
what I am feeling. Amongst the confusion, frustration, pain and deepest sadness
I find myself recalling many memories that you and I have shared over the years.

You were always a good older brother, the best in fact.
Whenever I needed some good advice or just someone to hang with,
you always seemed to make time for me and knew the right things to say.
You taught me a lot about life in general and especially about video games.
I recall the many hours we spent together at our old house when you lived with us
trying to beat each other in our favorite games. Later at the apartment
that you shared with Steve and Seth we exchanged cheat codes and game moves
over the phone sometimes tying up our lines for hours causing mom
and the other bubbas to get quite upset with us.
Neither of us cared, we enjoyed each other’s company.

You were always the hard worker in our family. Several different restaurants
had employed Shawn since his graduation from high school in 1995.
He endeavored to do his best in everything he did.
Shawn encouraged me to be a success in school, to follow in his footsteps, to graduateV
and further my education. By his example of hard work and perseverance,
he showed me that if I work hard enough for what I want I'd get it.
I only wish I had thanked you for your help more often.

I’ll cherish the memories of all the places that Shawn and I went together,
like to the mall, out to eat, and to his friend Bobby’s.
Most older brothers don’t want to be bothered with their younger brother tagging along,
but Shawn never seemed to mind me being with him.
Shawn was a compassionate person with a kind and gentle heart.

My dearest brother

I will miss you greatly; there will forever be a void deep within my heart.
Although I will not see your smile or hear your laughter again in this lifetime,
I will remember all that you and I have shared. I will eternally love you."


My 14-year-old son Nick wrote these beautiful words for his beloved brother "Bubba Shawn"
"I love you with all my heart Nick and so does Shawn, forever"



Sarah, Steven & Seth's Eulogy

In all a person’s years on this earth, only a handful of memories can stick to their minds
so well as those of friends and family. I have found this to be a fact.
Our lives can never be more moved than the memory of a fellow sibling
in the slow but steady progress of the aging from childhood to adolescence.
It was in those times I think that my brothers and I laughed the hardest at our antics.
From collecting junk behind our father’s old house, to seeing how hard we could slam
our NES controllers into Seth’s wall, often causing large craters in the drywall.
All of these, needless to say, caused at least one of us to get into trouble.

Many happy thoughts come to my mind and it would take hours to retell
all the hilarious things we dared Shawn to do.
Many more hours to relate the ones we didn’t dare him to.
He always knew how to make us laugh and was always in on the many secrets we kept
from mom and dad to avoid getting in more trouble.

If stories must be told, Seth recalled a tale to me of when Shawn was dared
to eat weird food combinations. We had seen a commercial about eating apples
with slices of cheese on top. Of course, after seeing this, we just had to find out
what they tasted like. Shawn was up for the task. So, being the loving siblings
we were we sliced a piece of apple and set a piece of cheese on top.
He opened wide and took a big bite; his pallet seemed sated at first with the taste.
After a few tenuous seconds, his face looked like he was ready to vomit
and out the semi-chewed piece of apple and cheese went, right down our dad’s
garbage disposal. He commented shortly after that, that the sweet taste of the apple
hit first and then the cheese, at which point he simulated a vomit-induced sound.
This, of course, made us roll on the floor, clutching our sides in maddening laughter.

He was a hard worker and did all he set his mind to. He was a great chef
and often made me dinner at mom’s house. On many a night we’d stay up playing Nintendo 64
and listening to Hearts of Space on the PBS radio station.
I remember walking to Woodville mall when I lived in Northwood.
Shawn went with me and the wind took his favorite hat.
We cursed at fallow fields of corn and muddy ice patches.
When we got to the mall, our shoes and pants were nothing but mud and slash marks
from the corn stalks. When mom saw the both of us in this state, she looked
like she was going to explode, with our clothing pretty much ruined.

He always told me to be happy and to do whatever it took to get there.
Only now do I understand. We must be strong and hold on to the good times.
He would do anything to make us laugh, often to the embarrassment of our dad,
at the store, going out to eat; all of these places
caused our loving father to turn various shades of red at Shawn’s actions.
Shawn seemed not to care where he was or who saw or heard what he did,
as long as someone laughed. To my brothers and me, Shawn was a brother,
in the most purest and simplest of terms. His memory will always live in all our hearts.


"This is a beautiful tribute to a much loved brother"
I am proud of each of my children and each hold a special place in my heart.




Music is "My Heart Will Go On"