Old Town preservation organizer

By Trevor Jensen | Chicago Tribune reporter
October 10, 2008
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-hed-john-a-cook-oc...

John A. Cook moved to Old Town as a young lawyer and helped found
several groups that fought to preserve the neighborhood's character.

A practicing lawyer for 60 years, Mr. Cook, 87, died apparently of a
heart attack Sunday, Oct. 5, in the Hallmark Retirement Community, said
his son John Q. Cook.

Mr. Cook and neighbors started groups including the Lincoln Park
Conservation Association and the Old Town Triangle Association, said
Neill Emmons, a former Old Town resident and a friend of Mr. Cook's
since their fraternity days at the University of Chicago.

Both groups worked to control redevelopment of the area, then as now
graced with colorful cottages and sturdy rowhouses. As he was stepping
down as president of the Lincoln Park Conservation Association in 1961,
Mr. Cook laid out a number of goals for the neighborhood, among them
strong schools and adequate police protection.

In a Tribune story, he said: "The key to the conservation of the older
areas lies in the retention of young families. The high-rise apartment
building blights the family life of the neighborhood around it."

Born in Oak Park, Mr. Cook was the son of an architect and musician who
also was a partner in a local brewery. After graduating from Fenwick
High School in Oak Park, Mr. Cook attended the University of Chicago
before joining the Army Medical Corps and serving stateside during World
War II.

He married the former Barbara Humes, an Oak Parker he had known since
grade school, in 1945 and completed his degree and law school at the U.
of C. before moving to Old Town.

Mr. Cook worked at a number of downtown firms and as a solo
practitioner, focusing on helping small to mid-size businesses.

With a young son starting school, the Cooks moved to Oak Park in 1960
and remained until the mid-1970s, when they returned to Old Town.

Survivors include his wife and two grandchildren.

A one-hour visitation will precede an 11 a.m. mass Friday in Holy Name
Cathedral, 735 N. State St., Chicago.

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