Cook Family Organization Officers

Marcia Marshall has been serving as board president for 2 years. She lives in Troy, Michigan where she is a professional ASL interpreter and has taught early-morning seminary in her ward for 12 years. She has 8 children who also get roped into Cook Family projects! Her main goals in the organization are to disseminate all the research and work that has been, and continues to be done, on the Cook family in easy and fun ways, arranging publication of books and papers that have been written by board members, creating videos about Cook ancestors, and helping Becca and Alison create children's books to get our youngest descendants interested in the Cook family.

Catharine Rasband has served as board Secretary for decades. She says, "I joined the organization in about 2000. I met Paul Porter (previously in charge of the finances in the organization) who was in my new ward. He and his wife, Dixie, came over for a visit and we got talking about family history. I mentioned that my 2nd great grandfather had founded Goshen, Utah. His response, 'Are you a Cook?' When Sharon Marcyes left on her mission, the organization needed a new secretary, and he asked me if I could do it. I have a wonderful husband, 8 children (all married) and 25 grandchildren. I love the water; quilting, reading, and being with my family. I teach Institute for the Pathways program of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints and am the Gospel Doctrine instructor in my ward."

Glen McMillan serves as the Cook Family Org. Treasurer and is also in charge of our book sales. He keeps our books — both financial and literal books! — in tip top shape! Glen lives in Layton, Utah and has 5 children and 25 grandchildren. He has been involved with the Cook board since 1985.

Janet Porter is currently the Cook Family Genealogist. She says, "I grew up in Woodruff, Utah and Salt Lake City, always with an interest in ancestors, but little opportunity. After college, marriage and ten children, family relocations to New York, Colorado, and Louisiana, we moved back to New York where we lived just a few miles across the Hudson River from Goshen, Connecticut. Unfortunately, I didn’t know anything about Phineas W. Cook, so I missed the significance of his place of birth. We later moved to Utah, but having five teen agers crowded out any hope of family history."

"When my last child started Kindergarten in 1989, I received a phone call from my brother in Cleveland. 'They’re looking for a genealogist in the Phineas Wolcott Cook Family Organization,' he said. 'If I give you a computer, do you think you could volunteer?' So I did. Little by little I learned the difference between primary source records and something someone claimed was true. Documenting our ancestors with original sources became my passion."

"For most of the 36 years since 1989, Bryson Cook and I have collaborated, documenting much of the family and publishing several articles in genealogy publications to share our discoveries. Many problems have been solved and families correctly united, including the correct family of Daniel Cook Jr.’s wife Elizabeth Porter and her family, Daniel Sr.’s wife Elizabeth Pond and her family and the correct marriage and children of Samuel Cook of Salem, Mass. and New Haven, Conn. Our original ancestor Henry Cooke has been and will continue to be under intense investigation. Building on work previously done by family genealogists, we have had access to original records, and have clarified old misconceptions. The recent publication of Legacy of Faith was the outcome of decades of research and discovery."

"We’ve watched as family history has embraced technology, bringing old techniques into a whole new world of data. If there’s anything we’ve learned, it’s that the hand of God is in the effort to document family history. Our job was just to do the footwork so He could guide us to the right outcome. Anything we accomplished with our years of hard work was, in the end, a gift from Him."

Wendy Whiting Bentley serves as the Organization's Temple Word co-chair. She was born in Minneapolis and has also lived in Uruguay, Argentina, Mexico and is now in Salt Lake City. She is a great-granddaughter of Phineas through his 4th wife, Johanna. She graduated from BYU and is the mother of 8 children. She served missions for 11 years with her husband in South American. She loves family history work and she and family Genealogist Janet Porter used to meet weekly at the Family History Library in Salt Lake to do Cook research. She is interested in doing research on the original Cook who came to American — Henry Cook — and his wife Judith Birdsall's life trying to continue their lines back into England. She also works with Brent Hale on getting Cook family names into the temple group for family members to take to the temple. She would love some help with this fun work! Message us if you'd like to help with name preparation. She and Brent have a huge Cook list to work on!

Geoffrey Smith lives in Salt Lake City where he is self-employed. He has also lived in Providence, Utah and River heights Utah. His daughter Becca got him involved with the Cook Family board.