William (Bill) John Cook, son of Earl Zack and Vera Florence (DePoy) Cook, was born April 12, 1929, in Des Moines, IA. Bill and his two siblings, Albert and Harold, grew up on a small farm on the east side of Des Moines, where they hunted and learned to work on all things mechanical.

Bill graduated from East High School in Des Moines, IA, in 1948. After graduation, he worked as a machinist for a local auto parts supply company in Des Moines before joining the Army in 1951.

While in the Army and stationed at Fort Meade, MD, he met his beautiful bride, Laura Kate Edwards.  Laura had moved from Sulphur Springs, TN, to work as a clerk for the Navy in Washington, DC. It's a classic story–Bill had been seeing Laura's roommate, and the roommate stood him up one evening, so he invited Laura out. They were united in marriage on May 23, 1953, at Bethany Baptist Church in Washington, DC.

In the fall of 1953, Bill and Laura returned to Iowa, where he enrolled in the mechanical engineering (ME) program at Iowa State College. This was made possible by the GI Bill and the co-op program at John Deere, where Bill worked while attending school. Bill graduated with a BS in mechanical engineering in November 1957 as the valedictorian of his class. Upon completion of his undergraduate degree, Bill was awarded a Westinghouse Fellowship and went on to earn his master of science (MS) degree in mechanical engineering in 1959. In 1958, Bill joined the ISU ME department faculty as an instructor. Bill continued his education and completed a doctor of philosophy degree in mechanical engineering and theoretical and applied mechanics in 1964. Bill was a member of the Phi Eta Sigma, Pi Tau Sigma, Tau Beta Pi, Phi Kappa Phi, and Sigma XI scholastic honor societies.

The couple made their home in Ames, IA, where they raised two children, Sharon and Donald.

The highlight of his career was the interaction with literally thousands of ME students. Bill taught juniors, seniors, and graduate students in fluid dynamics, fluid mechanics, and compressible fluid flow. He received a number of teaching awards: 1978, ME Professor of the Year; 1979, Outstanding Professor Award from the ASME Student Section and Engineering Council; and in 1981, the Superior Engineering Teacher award for the university. Over his career, Bill worked with 30 graduate students as they completed their graduate theses requirements.

During his career, he published 31 scientific papers and coauthored the engineering textbook Introduction to Engineering Thermodynamics . In addition to teaching, he was passionate about his research. His area of research focused on the flow of air over objects, particularly airplane wing profiles.  He studied the shock waves produced by supersonic air flowing over objects and mastered the use of Schlieren photography to capture details photographs of air flowing over wing profiles at supersonic speed. Bill was an active member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and the American Society for Engineering Education. He retired from ISU in 2001 after 42 years of teaching.

Through many of his years at ISU, the family would pack up for the summer and travel to research labs across the country for Bill to continue his air flow research. During the summers of 1960, '61, and '62, the family traveled to the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory in New Mexico where Bill worked on the top security Nuclear Rocket Program. In the summers of 1966 and 1967, he participated in the NASA/American Society of Engineering Education Summer Faculty Fellowship at NASA Ames Research Center in collaboration with Stanford University. Other summers were spent at the NASA Ames research Center, Moffett Field, CA, and one summer at NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA.

Bill was a longtime faithful member of Collegiate United Methodist Church (CUMC). He served for many years on the board of trustees for the church and was involved in many projects. When CUMC purchased the neighboring church property, Bill was actively involved in converting the property into office rental space for not-for-profit community outreach organizations. Bill, along with his close friend Bruce Munson, spent many hours doing all the maintenance and upkeep on the building. Bill truly loved volunteering his time to church activities.

Bill also loved the outdoors. He was a member of the Ames Izaak Walton League and for many years organized the annual Arbor Day celebration where Ames school students received trees to plant at home. Bill also loved to go fishing and hunting. He volunteered as a hunter education Instructor for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and taught muzzle loader rifle safety classes at the Izaak Walton League. In 1999 he was selected to receive a Governor's Individual Volunteer Award by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources–Fish and Wildlife. Bill's interest in hunting started at a young age when he and his brother Harold purchased their first 22-caliber rifle for $2.50 so they could go squirrel hunting on the farm. Bill enjoyed old technology and so, to no surprise, he became an avid user of black powder muzzle loader guns. He liked the challenge of hunting deer and pheasants with a muzzle loader where he only had one shot, so he needed to make sure it was a good one. His enjoyment of muzzle loaders led him to use his engineering and manufacturing skills to make his own muzzle-loading rifles.

Bill was always looking for something to fix, and having grown up during the Depression, he knew the value of making sure that nothing went to waste. When challenged on why he was saving a broken part, he would say, "I might need that someday and what's the worry, it don't eat nor drink." One of the joys of his last years in Ames was rebuilding a 1929 Indian motorcycle with his nephew.

Bill enjoyed spending time with his grandchildren Willow and Forest, as well as the drive to Seattle to visit them. He was proud to attend his granddaughter's high school graduation and sad that, because of failing heath, he could not attend his grandson's high school graduation.

Laura and Bill moved from Ames to Downers Grove, IL, in May 2019.

Bill was preceded in death by his parents and his two brothers, Albert and Harold.

Bill is survived by his beloved wife of over 67 years, Laura; their two children, Sharon (Gerald) Schmidt of Naperville, IL, and Donald (Monica Nehm) Cook of Stanwood, WA; two grandchildren, Willow Cook and Forest Cook; and nieces and nephews, many of whom consider him to be a grandfather.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Iowa Public Radio or the Arbor Day program at the Ames Izaak Walton League.

A Celebration of Life will be held in Ames, Iowa on Saturday, September 25, 2021, at 2:00 p.m. Relatives and friends are invited to watch a livestream of the service through this link: https://youtu.be/bvXC4nSHOt8 .