A Mass of Christian Burial for Orville “Orv” Cook, age 83, of Windom, will be held at 10:30 AM on Sat., Aug. 31st at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Windom, with Father Antony Arokiyam officiating. Burial will be at St. Francis Xavier Cemetery in Windom. Military honors will be provided by American Legion Post #206 of Windom.
A time of visitation and gathering will be held on Fri., Aug. 30th from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the LaCanne Family Celebration of Life Center in Windom. Visitation will continue on Saturday for one hour prior to the funeral Mass at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Windom. The Mass will be livestreamed on the St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church website.
Orville Paul Cook, known to friends as “Orv”, was born on February 2, 1941, to the late Lawrence and Berniece (Wieneke) Cook in Adrian, Minnesota. Orv was one of six siblings who contracted polio at a young age. He was baptized and confirmed at St. Adrian’s Catholic Church in Adrian. Orv attended St. Adrian’s Catholic School in Adrian and graduated in the class of 1959. Orv later attended Canby Vocational School, where he studied auto mechanics.
In May of 1964, Orville met Virginia “Gini” Wiese at the Hollyhock Ballroom in Hatfield, Minnesota, where they enjoyed several famous performers over the years. On September 18, 1965, Orv was united in marriage to Gini at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Worthington. The couple was blessed with two children, Craig and Jeff. Orv farmed until 1968, and then worked as the Service Manager at Windom Co-op Association, now Cenex. He retired on February 1, 2006.
Through the years, Orv was active in the church as a greeter, a Parish Council member, and he served as a communion minister to the nursing home for 23 years. Orv was a member of the Knights of Columbus, where he served as a Grand Knight, worked the Cottonwood County Fair booth, Tootsie Roll drive, and the free throw contest.
Orv had many interests that included bowling, playing pool at the Senior Center, and hunting and fishing with his sons. He also enjoyed playing cards and golf with his brothers and sisters. He watched the MN Vikings football games on television and rooted for the MN Twins. Orv and Gini enjoyed music and theater together and made more than 25 trips to Branson, Missouri. They were members of the Windom Concert Association for over 40 years and took part in the concert series in Windom and surrounding communities. They especially enjoyed bi-weekly trips to the Okoboji to attend summer theater productions, concerts and go to movies at the Spirt Lake theater, and they vacationed every summer.
On Monday, August 19, 2024, Orv passed away peacefully with his wife by his side, under hospice care at the Good Samaritan Society- Sogge Memorial in Windom.
Orv is survived by his wife of 58 years, Virginia “Gini” Cook of Windom; two sons, Craig (Julia) Cook of Oviedo, FL, and Jeff Cook (Melody Nelson) of St. Paul, MN; four granddaughters, Madison and Kennedy Cook, Livia and Harper Nelson; four sisters, Lorriane Poss of Sibley, IA, Betty Herman of Ellsworth, MN, Donna Langel of LeMars, IA, Mary Wolf of Sioux Falls, SD; two sisters-in-law, Mary Cook of Sioux Falls, SD, and Alice Cook of Adrian; brother-in-law, Willy Nath of Luverne, MN; and many nieces, nephews and other extended family members.
Orville was preceded in death by his parents, Lawrence and Berniece Cook; brothers, Loren, Jim, and Virgil Cook; sisters, Virginia Deutsch, and Marguerite Nath; nephews, Dave Neyers and Kevin Cook; brothers-in-law, Dallas Poss, Ray Neyers, Virgil Jonas, Lawrence Deutsch, Lyle Wolf, Butch Langel, and Paul Herman; sister-in-law, Darlene Cook.
Blessed be the memory of Orville Paul Cook. Arrangements are under the care of the LaCanne Family Celebration of Life Center in Windom. Condolences and memories of Orville may be sent online to www.lacannefuneralhome.com.
