In the early morning of the Strawberry Eclipse on June 5, 2020, Jack Augustine Cook, writer, prisoner, pipe-smoker, anarchist, Propagandist for Peace, theater director, husband, father, brother, uncle, son, grandfather, in-law, and loyal friend, removed his boots at age 80. Jack was born in Brooklyn to Helen Mulligan and William Cook. He also lived in Buffalo, NY, Bloomfield, NJ, and Palmerton, PA before attending King’s College. In the sixties, he taught at Hobart William-Smith College, where he counseled students about being conscientious objectors. When he received his own induction card, rather than use a teacher’s deferment, he quit and joined the Catholic Worker in New York City.
At the Catholic Worker he collaborated closely with Dorothy Day, wrote for and edited the newspaper, served soup, organized the donation closet, and was active in the Peace Movement. He and his first wife were married by Daniel Berrigan in the CW soup kitchen, where Jack was later arrested. He served two years in prison for refusing induction, where he also spent time in solitary for leading protests and hunger strikes. While still incarcerated, his son Shannon was born in 1969. A toast to his birth is in Jack’s prison memoirs, Rags of Time: A Season in Prison. After prison, Jack started over at a lumber mill in Spencer, New York. In 1980, he met his wife of 40 years, Ellen Conti, who gave birth to his daughter and “the revolution of his forties”, Cynthia, in 1981. They lived together above Conti Jewelers in downtown Owego for 30 years. Jack finished his graduate studies at Cornell, raised Cynthia, and gave her a political education that influenced her legal career dedicated to anti-racism and fighting state violence. Jack also worked at Conti Jewelers, expertly engraving many loving messages onto bracelets and baby cups. From his final resting place in Endwell, he wrote over 20 books about politics, state violence, his experience in prison, and the wildlife outside his window. His papers will be archived at Marquette University.
His last 17 days were spent at home cared for by Ellen, Cynthia, his son-in-law, Jesse Martin, along with his son, Shannon, his grandson, Zeno, his granddaughter Charis, his nephew, Gavin, his nephew’s son Jack, his nephew Nick, as well as many visits (live and virtual) with his brothers Bill and Donny, his nieces and nephews, his mother-in-law Angie, and his lifelong friends from Owego, the Catholic Worker, and prison. In his last days, he drank, smoked, enjoyed the company of guests, listened to family reading Moby Dick, watched Waiting for Godot, listened to folk music and Gregorian chants, ravaged a lemon meringue pie, and rejoiced in the rage of anti-racism protesters. Jack was cremated and his ashes will be stored in his tobacco tins until his family and friends can gather to usher him into the unbound realm by way of Cayuga Lake. To honor Jack’s memory, donations may be made to Ti-Ahwaga Players, the Tioga County Rural Ministries, or the Catholic Worker.