Kenneth (Ken) Lewis Cooke

Marietta has lost a notable son of this city. Kenneth (Ken) Lewis Cooke died at the age of 70 in Nashville, Tennessee, on September 28th, after giving cancer a long-distance run to the finish. His wife Sabrina (Dodson) Cooke and their daughter Madison carried him with enduring devotion throughout his final journey. Ken was buried at Resurrection Cemetery in Columbus, OH on October 9th of this year. A Memorial mass was held for Ken at The Basilica of St Mary of the Assumption in Marietta on Wednesday November 25th.

Ken was born in Marietta on October 2, 1949 to Homer Gerald Cooke & Margaret Ann (Pouzide) Cooke (both deceased). He is survived by his sister Mary Weddle and brothers Francis & Gerald Cooke, his Aunt Geraldine Pouzide and his eldest daughter Sarah Cooke and her mother Patricia McCoy Cooke of Marietta.

He graduated from Marietta High School and was a Business/Econ graduate of Marietta College (B.A. 1971) and The Ohio University Graduate School of Business Accounting (MBA 1976) ), where he had earned the Lifetime Achievement Award. Ken was a revered member of Delta Upsilon fraternity at Marietta and his loss is greatly mourned by his brothers.

While Ken will be well remembered by his many friends and associates that he partnered with on a variety of adventures, it was his long-standing relationship with the Columbus Zoo that he considered his fondest experience. Ken served the Columbus Zoo as its Treasurer and ultimately became the Chairman of the Board. During his tenure with the Zoo, he played a role in the arrival of Jack Hannah, the ground-breaking acquisition of Pandas from China, and the expansion of the Columbus Zoo into becoming one of the most recognized zoological institutions in the world.

His business life was no less rewarding. Ken was a managing partner of the Columbus office of PricewaterhouseCoopers and subsequently served the international firm as the Global eBusiness Leader 1998-2002 and ultimately as Global CIO from 2001-2008. His work took him to major financial centers across the globe and to the halls of Congress. After retirement from his first career, Ken was recruited to be the EVP & Chief Operating Officer of Intermedix Corp, a physician and EMS RCM, practice management and analytics enterprise that he helped expand to national prominence.

Ken was active in the United Way, was a member of the Trustees Academy at Ohio University, an Executive Board member of the San Francisco Zoo, served as an advisor to the BYU School of Accountancy & Information Systems, and is a past board member of the Columbus Foundation.

Everyone who knew Ken will remember him for his big smile, unlimited energy, and his enthusiastic curiosity about everything.