Eight Bells: Jay Cook

Dale “Jay” Cook, age 60, passed away January 16 with loved ones by his side in the comfort of his home in Charleston, South Carolina.

Jay had a large personality, a huge presence, and he shared those qualities through his involvement in many organizations and associations locally and globally.

He was the previous Director of Operations for Water Mission and Past Commodore of Charleston Ocean Racing Association (C.O.R.A), introducing countless community members to sailing through racing, skippering, and instructing.

Together with his CORA friends and crew of his Beneteau 432 Tohidu, they helped promote the city of Charleston into one of the most active sailing communities of generations.

An avid offshore sailor, Jay raced internationally in the island and Cuba. His numerous awards such as Boat of The Year and Sportsmanship Award were surpassed only by his shared stewardship of the Charleston sailing community.

When his sons were young, Jay devoted time to coaching multiple youth sports teams. He was the former owner of Azalea Moving and Storage from 1981 to 2008. He was the former president of the South Carolina Movers Conference, the District Chair of Rotary 7770 Youth Exchange Program, a member of Rotary Charleston Breakfast Club and Rotary Readers.

He also enjoyed reading, woodworking, eating, drinking margaritas, sharing milk and cookies with his dog Git-li, and he loved to tell a good story!

Jay was the loving and devoted husband to Susan Cook, beloved father to sons DJ (Ashton), Adam (Emmy), and Travis (Lindsey), grandfather to Easton Jay, Lilly Rene, Julian James, and Sawyer Lee. He was the son of John Dale Cook and the late Donna Sue Landrum Cook, and brother to Tony and Michael Cook.

He leaves behind many other loved family members and dear friends. He touched the lives of so many people and the story of Jay Cook will live on through them.

A visitation will be held on Saturday, January 19, 2018 at J. Henry Stuhr, Inc., Mount Pleasant Chapel, 1494 Mathis Ferry Road, Mt. Pleasant from 5:00 until 7:00 pm. The funeral service will be held on Sunday, January 20, 2019 in East Cooper Baptist Church, 361 Egypt Road, Mt. Pleasant at 3:00 PM.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations may be made in Jay’s name to Water Mission, 1150 Kinzer St., Bldg 1605, North Charleston, SC 29405 (watermission.org) or Charleston Community Sailing, 17 Lockwood Drive, Charleston, SC 29401 (charlestoncommunitysailing.org).