State Board of Education member Dave Cook dies at 65

Dave Cook, a veteran member of the state Board of Education, died Oct. 12 in a Reno hospital.

Cook, 65, had suffered from health problems for years including heart problems and diabetes.

His daughter Danielle said Cook had been in and out of the hospital because of his heart issues and went in to the South Meadows Renown “expecting to get sent home with a bottle of penicillin.”

She said during his hospital stay, he suffered kidney failure.

Cook was first elected to the Carson City School Board in 1988, serving eight years including as its president. He was elected to the Board of Education in 1996 but lost it in 2000. Cook reclaimed the seat in 2008 and was re-elected in 2012.

His current term would have ended in January 2017.

He was a fourth generation Nevadan who graduated from Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas in 1968. Danielle said he was an Eagle Scout. He earned an MBA from UNLV as well as undergraduate degrees in accounting and political science.

Cook worked at the Department of Motor Vehicles in the 1980s in Information Technology before joining the faculty of Western Nevada College.

He eventually became a tenured professor, teaching business and economics at WNC for almost 30 years. After retiring there, he went to work teaching math at Career College of Northern Nevada in Reno.

He also served as a member of the Post-Secondary Education Commission.

Cook was a longtime Republican but ran as a Democrat for Assembly District 40 representing Carson City in 2014. He lost to P.K. O’Neill in the General Election.

Danielle said he will be cremated and services will be held in the near future, hopefully at the Masonic Hall in Carson City. No date has been set.

He’s survived by daughters Danielle Cook and Elizabeth Viera and his brother Thomas of Las Vegas.

It will be up to Gov. Brian Sandoval to appoint someone to serve the remainder of Cook’s term ending in January 2017.