Haskell Calhoun Cook, known to everyone as “Hack”, of Spartanburg, passed away at the Spartanburg Regional Hospice Home on Sunday, July 14, 2019, at the age of 95. Born in Laurens County, SC on October 17, 1923, he was the son of the late Lawrence N. Cook and Ruth Cooper Cook. Hack was happily married for 74 years to Martha Smith Cook who predeceased him by six weeks.
A graduate of the Gray Court-Owings, SC schools, Hack entered the Citadel at the age of sixteen. From there he graduated from Officer’s Candidate School and the U. S. Army Command and General Staff College. He served in Germany, Czechoslovakia and France during WWII in the European Theater Operations as a Mortar Platoon Leader with the 97th Infantry Division. After returning stateside, Hack and Martha married. Three weeks later, he was shipped to Occupied Japan to serve as a paratrooper and Company Executive Officer with the 11th Airbourne Division. He remained active in the Army Reserves for 26 years retiring as a Lt. Colonel. After leaving active duty, he spent 39 years with Kaiser Agricultural Chemicals.
Hack and Martha were the oldest couple at Southside Baptist Church where Hack served as a deacon, usher, greeter and teller, as well as treasurer of the Layman’s Sunday School Class. He was also a Melvin Jones Fellow during his longstanding membership with the Spartanburg Lions Club serving on the Sight Committee for decades.
Hack was the best dad ever to his two daughters: Susan Cook Hayes (Bill Hayes) and Janet Cook Hicklin (Dr. Mark Hicklin), all of Spartanburg, SC. His five grandchildren and their spouses loved him dearly: Rev. Dr. Jeff and Krista Hayes of Rock Hill, SC, Holly Elizabeth Hayes and Allan Hilton of Raleigh, NC, Drs. David and Susanne Hicklin of Columbia, SC, Drs. Hunter and Anna Louise Hicklin of Greenville, SC, and Tanner and Elizabeth Hicklin of Nashville, TN. He is also survived by six great-grandchildren: Duncan and Haley Hicklin, Benjamin and Jackson Hayes, and Mary Joyce and Sanford Hicklin.
Funeral services will be conducted at 10:00 AM Thursday, July 18, 2019, at Floyd’s Greenlawn Chapel, 2075 E. Main St., Spartanburg, SC 29307, by The Rev. Dr. Jeff Hayes and The Rev. Dr. Bruce Russell. The family will receive friends following the service until 12:00 noon. Entombment, with military honors, will be in Greenlawn Memorial Gardens Heritage Chapel Mausoleum, 1300 Fernwood-Glendale Rd., Spartanburg, SC 29307.
The family expresses heartfelt gratitude to the caring staff of Eden Terrace for their love and support given to Hack and Martha over the past year. They are also thankful for the expert terminal care that Hack received at Spartanburg Regional Hospice Home.
Memorials may be made to Southside Baptist Church Global Missions Fund, 316 South Church Street, Spartanburg, SC 29306; Spartanburg Lions Club, PO Box 647, Spartanburg, SC 29304; or a charity of one’s choice.
An online guest register is available at www.floydmortuary.com
Floyd’s Greenlawn Chapel
Posted in: Spartanburg Herald Journal
Posted on: 2019-07-16
Link to original obituary: https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/spartanburg/obituary.aspx?n=haskell-calhoun-cook-hack&pid=193399552&fhid=6043