Wayne Ellis Cook

Wayne Ellis Cook, 85; beloved husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather passed away on December 6, 2023 among family members.  He is survived by his wife, Jeanne Ruth (Kroksh) Cook, his four children; Cindy Gurr (Brad) of Kaysville, Utah; Jeff Cook (Tina) of Providence, Utah; Lisa Saunders (Alan) of Syracuse, Utah; and Brian Cook (Jennifer) of Clinton, Utah; his brother, Lynn Cook (Kathy) of Auburn, California; twelve grandchildren and sixteen great-grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his parents, Wayne Henry Cook and Zola Clayton (Ellis) Cook and his brother, Brent Cook.

Wayne was born on October 4, 1938, in Ogden, Utah to Wayne H. Cook and Zola Cook where he grew up in South Ogden as the oldest of three boys. He attended Weber High School and graduated in 1956. During high school he worked for his mother’s business, Zolene’s Draperies. He then continued his education at Utah State University where he was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha and met his sweetheart and future wife, Jeanne Kroksh. They were married in the Salt Lake City Temple on June 12, 1959. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from Utah State University in Civil Engineering, earning his Professional Engineering (P.E.) license in 1961.

Wayne started his professional career with the Bureau of Reclamation and stayed for 30 years; entirely in the Colorado River Basin, split equally between Planning and Operations Divisions. He started with the Bureau in Vernal, Utah then transferred to Provo, Utah until he was promoted as the Division Chief of Project Planning Division and Senior Staff Officer at the Western Colorado Projects Office in Durango, Colorado. Another promotion brought him back home to Salt Lake City where he was the Regional Superintendent of Water & Land Operations for the Upper Colorado Region as well as Utah’s drought coordinator. At retirement from the Bureau of Reclamation, his responsibilities included operations of the Colorado River reservoirs in the Upper Basin as well as responsibilities in other basins. After retiring from the Bureau, Wayne was appointed Executive Director of the Upper Colorado River Commission in October of 1990. During this time, he represented the Commission on all Colorado River activities.

Wayne served the Commission for 13 years, retiring on April 1, 2003. After retiring from the Commission, he continued using his vast knowledge and expertise of the Colorado River water usage and rights by consulting for the Western Area Power Administration and on the city level with Haights Creek for Fruit Heights & Kaysville Cities. Wayne was a hard worker and dedicated to his profession.

Wayne’s interests include woodworking, model trains, classic cars, golf, snow and water skiing, table tennis, music (vocal and piano) and HAM radio. He was a member of the Davis Master Chorale with his wife and 2 daughters. Even though he travelled much with his profession, he still took time to support his family in their many activities of concerts, soccer games, track meets, karate lessons, campouts, etc.

Wayne is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and held many callings; but his favorite ward callings were priest advisor and the primary pianist. He also served in the Boy Scouts of America and was an avid supporter. Wayne and Jeanne served as temple workers in the Bountiful Temple for 13 years and ushers at Temple Square and Conference Center for 4 years.

He will be greatly missed by all who know him.

The family would like to thank South Davis Hospice and The Peaks At Clinton as they both took such great care of Wayne over the last few months.

Funeral services will be held Saturday December 16, 2023 at 2:00 p.m. at Lindquist’s Kaysville Mortuary, 400 N. Main Street, Kaysville, Utah.  Friends may visit with family Saturday from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. at the mortuary prior to the service at the mortuary.

The service will be live-streamed and may be viewed by scrolling to the bottom of  Wayne’s obituary page at www.lindquistmortuary.com

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