“It`s Tough to Tie a Tie Through Tears”
Transcription
“It`s Tough to Tie a Tie Through Tears”
ISSUE 2 IN THIS ISSUE Connecting the employees of Cook, Kubiak-Cook, Koops, QPP & GMM CONNECTING WITH FAMILIES WE SERVE “It’s Tough to Tie a Tie Through Tears” by Dale Matthews The family was devastated by the sudden death of a “young” husband and father! I did the afternoon visitation and funeral the next day. At the visitation I heard many talk about how the 23 year old son had to “mature” over night. I talked with the wife and 23 year old several times, including sharing my condolences with them. I told them that I would not be at the evening visitation, but that I would be with them in the morning for the funeral at the church. We had everything set up at the church in the morning when mother and son arrived. I walked up to them to see how they were doing and the son held out his tie and asked if I could tie it for him. He and his Mom had even gone on line to see if they could CONNECTING WITH FAMILIES WE SERVE CONNECTING WITH OUR EMPLOYEES COMPANY CONNECTION CONNECTING WITH COMMUNITY You are the Expert! by Jeanne Shaffer Each one of you has been chosen as a member of the Cook team for your skills and expertise as well as your commitment to excellence. Using your gifts and talents to help families during a very difficult time in their lives is a privilege. As we serve families we also serve and encourage one another. Your impact is greater than the tasks you accomplish. Helping another person, solving a problem, or simply doing what needs to be done with a gracious attitude is what makes all of our firms known for excellence. Sandy Westhouse get it done, to no avail. He then said something that touched my heart, “Dad always tied it for me and I can’t do it.” I took the tie and put it around my neck, saying that was the only way I could do it and would slip it off and he could slip it on. He said that is just how his Dad does it! It’s tough to tie a tie through tears, but I did! Passionate employees are the building blocks of our companies. Our employees are amazing! Each month we share just a little from our collection of their inspiring stories of service. Our best ideas for serving our families have come from our employees. You are the expert! We need your ideas for continuous improvements. A special thank you to all our employees for your commitment to Serve With Excellence. Excellence takes sacrifice, mistakes, and enormous amounts of effort. There are no shortcuts. Rafe Esquith CONNECTING WITH OUR EMPLOYEES Remembering Dorothy Dorothy Fernhout by Deb Mousseau The name “Dorothy” means “gift from God”. Dorothy Fernhout was truly a gift from God to all who knew her. Dorothy was a wonderful, kind, thoughtful person. I have never heard anyone ever say an unkind word about Dorothy. If you crossed paths with Dorothy during any given day, you were blessed with a beautiful smile and an encouraging word. If only there were more Dorothy Fernhouts, this world would be a better place. I consider it not only a gift, but an honor to have known Dorothy. Prayers for Dorothy’s family and close friends as they continue to find their “new normal” without her lovely presence. May they cherish the memories of God’s wonderful gift to them, the gift of Dorothy Fernhout. Bill & Dorothy Fernhout For several years, the Kubiak-Cook staff has been blessed with the addition of part-timer Bill Fernhout. Bill is known in the Byron Center and Wayland communities (among others) for his pastoring at several different Christian Reformed Church pulpits. In the Spring of 2014, the Wayland Schools honored Dorothy on a special day. The Dorr Elementary invited her family to a breakfast held for them. The centerpieces on the table were flip flops in memory of her. Following the breakfast a tree was dedicated in front of the school with a beautiful granite plaque. Her legacy lives on each day at the school and is reflected in the lovely tribute which grows in her honor. All of our hearts were saddened with him when on January 20, 2014 his beautiful wife Dorothy Mae Fernhout,passed peacefully into the loving arms of her Lord and Savior. One of the greatest legacies Dorothy has left behind was with her work as a Special Education teacher at Dorr Elementary. “Dorothy was a wonderful teacher, friend and parent. She loved her students and it showed in everything she did with them. She made a difference in the lives of so many children. “ – Susan Hofmann 2 She had more energy and was more cheerful as she taught WHILE fighting cancer than any healthy person. I’ve never known a more beautiful soul. – Molly Parker Dorr Elementary School Ron Cook Honored At the Michigan Funeral Directors Association (MFDA) convention in Lansing, Ronald R. Cook received the Sixty Year Licensees award. The award is in recognition of sixty years of devotion to the funeral service profession and with deep appreciation for the interest in and to humanity. It is given on behalf of the funeral profession in Michigan. Congratulations and thank you Mr. Cook! COMPANY CONNECTION Funeral Services Training by Ron Cook ll We held a Funeral Staff Training event at the Cook Memorial Chapel in Grandville Thursday, May 28. Around 40 people were in attendance for a very informative session. My hat goes off to Mary Burdo and her supporting cast for the incredible effort and preparation that went into this day and all the printed materials that were handed out. There were multiple presentations: my dad and I introduced some people that are new to the team, details about funeral services, method of seating at a funeral, family coaching at a first time of viewing, John Pountney explained the importance of our efforts in bringing people into our care from their place of death, Sheri Deppe talked about food service and some of our recent changes there, Audrey DeHaan talked about Aftercare materials and processes, Pastor Gary Leyendecker presented the value offerings at our monument company, Mary Burdo reminded us of the importance of FTC Compliance and other important resource materials, and we finished with a reminder about the Cook Company Picnic at the Ballpark on Friday, July 10. If you were unable to attend the training, please touch base with Mary Burdo [email protected] to receive the thorough training materials and a link to the video or even a DVD video copy of the training itself. Again, thank you to everyone who attended and contributed. Fire? Our Lake Odessa rental unit was put to good use before being torn down. The local fire department was able to use it for practicing their life saving skills. 3 CONNECTING WITH COMMUNITY Veterans’ Picnic by Melanie Ippel What another beautiful night to celebrate our local Veterans! We served over 400 people on a beautiful sunny Thursday and we were so excited to see so many familiar faces. The Jenison choir concluded our night by singing some beautiful patriotic music and everyone walked away with a free tote bag filled with goodies. We changed things up just a little bit this year, and boy was it a HIT! Over 40 teenagers for the Jenison High School choir came and actually SERVED the Veterans their dinner. The smiles, thank-yous and appreciation that the kids got was overwhelming! One of the highlights was watching our oldest Veteran in attendance, a World War 11 vet, walk over to the choir and begin to tell them some war stories. He became a walking history book to them, as many of them are studying this war in school. They all shook his hand and his smile was huge. Texas Roadhouse once again came through and served an amazing BBQ chicken dinner! If you haven’t ever gone to Texas Roadhouse, you should give it a try! It is located just off of 196 and 44th St in Grandville and they serve AMAZING dinners with some extra yummy dinner rolls! Memo SAVE THE DATE Annual Cook Party! West Michigan Whitecaps July 10, 2015 An evening of fun at the ballpark Invites mailing soon! All-in-all, we really can’t say enough great things about this night. Everyone was smiling and enjoying the evening, and we were able to thank those that made it all possible for us to stand their basking in our freedom. Upcoming events Veterans Benefits Today Byron Center - Tuesday, June 16 at 7:00 pm at Cook Funeral Home. Grandville - Tuesday, June 23 at 7:00 pm at the Cook Memorial Chapel Widows’ Picnic in the Park After last year’s success we will again be hosting several widows’ picnics this summer. This is a special gathering just for men and women in our community who have lost a spouse. For some it may have been a long time ago and for others much more recent. It’s an opportunity to make new friends, be entertained, and enjoy some great food. Details to come. Annual Chicken and Wild Game Dinner St. Mary’s Visitation in Byron Center. Meet in the lobby at 11:30. CHICKEN - Sunday, June 28 / WILD GAME - Sunday, November 1 This newsletter is published by: Cook Family Services 4235 Prairie, Ave. Grandville, MI 49418 Phone: 616.534.7619 www.cookcares.com ©2015 – All rights reserved