Paul F. Bfd Cook

Paul Frederick Cook, 89, District Chief (Retired), of the Boston Fire Department passed away at his home in Westwood, on Sunday afternoon, August 4, 2013, surrounded by his family.

Paul is survived by his wife of sixty-six years, Dorothy (Neagle) Cook, and three sons and one daughter:  Bruce (and his wife Jennifer) of Westwood; Frank (and his wife Sandra) of Attleboro; Jonathan ( and his wife Kim) of Mansfield; and Janna (Cook) Peterson (and her husband Roland) , of Sharon.  Also survived by eight grandchildren:  Paul and Jesse Cook of Westwood; Noelani, Andrew, and Kimberly (and her husband Paul Difiore), of Attleboro; Elyse Peterson of Sharon; and Joshua and Thomas Cook of Mansfield.  He is also survived by two great-grandsons, Thomas and Jack Difiore of Attleboro.

Paul was predeceased by his brothers:  Herbert, Emerson, Charles, and Richard.

Born in Boston October 23, 1923, the son of the late Frank E. and Florence C. (Markham) Cook.  A graduate of Jamaica Plain High School in 1941, he attended Bentley University prior to enlisting in the U.S. Army in 1942.

During World War II, Paul served with the 3110 Signal Service Battalion, DD Team, in the European Theatre of Operations, as a cryptographer.  While stationed in Plymouth, England prior to the invasion of Europe, he was wounded during an air raid.  He landed on Normandy’s Utah Beach and served in General George Patton’s 3rd Army.  Paul participated in the Normandy breakout at Avranches, liberation of Paris, and the Battle of the Bulge.  In 1945 he was on detached service with the 1st Allied Airborne Army, assigned to gliders with the 82 ^nd Airborne, for the planned assault on Berlin, and later ended up in that city assigned to the Intelligence Center.  He was honorably discharged in February 1946 with the rank of Technical Sergeant.

Fire-fighting was Paul’s life-long enjoyment and he served his unofficial apprenticeship as a “working spark” in the late 1930’s and early 1940’s.  He fought numerous fires in this capacity, including the infamous Cocoanut Grove nightclub fire.  In 1947 he was appointed to the Boston Fire Department and rose through the ranks to District Chief, assigned to District 3 in downtown Boston, in 1971.  In 1985 he became the chief officer of the Planning and Logistics Section, at fire department headquarters, and the Civil Defense Director of the city of Boston.  He received the Award of Recognition in 1988 for his implementation of numerous programs that improved the operational efficiency of the Boston Fire Department.  Following his retirement in 1988, he published a memoir of his life and experiences on the fire department, Ready to Roll … Ready to Die .

A devout Christian, Paul served as a Deacon, Sunday School Superintendent, Treasurer, Bible Study leader, Choir member, and on the Board of Trustees at the Rock Hill Baptist Church in Jamaica Plain, Westwood Evangelical Free Church, and the United Church of Norwood.

Paul was a member of St. John’s Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, Boston, and Celestial Lodge, Westwood; he was also a member of Aleppo Temple Shrine in Wilmington.

He was a life-member of the American Legion, and Past Commander of Boston Fireman’s Post #94.  Also, he was a member of the Westwood Retired Men’s Club.

In 1998, the Governor of Kentucky, Paul E. Patton, appointed Paul a Kentucky Colonel.

Family and friends are kindly invited to attend visiting hours on Friday, August 9, 2013 from 2 – 4 and 7 – 9 p.m. at the Folsom Funeral Home, 649 High Street (Route 109), Westwood.  Funeral services will be held at the United Church of Norwood, 595 Washington Street, Norwood (opposite the town common) on Saturday, August 10, 2013 at 10 a.m.  Chief Cook will be laid to rest in the New Westwood Cemetery, High Street, Westwood.