Philip Wayne Cooke of Fearrington Village died at his home on July 30. He was 75. Dr. Cooke was a professor emeritus at the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Social Work and retired in 2003.
Born on January 7, 1932 in Surry County to the late Chonnie and Porter W. Cooke, he was the oldest of five sons. He grew up in Pilot Mountain and Norfolk, VA. Dr. Cooke earned undergraduate degrees from Mars Hill Junior College and Furman University. He received his master’s degree in social work from UNC-Chapel Hill in 1965, and after graduation was a social worker in the St. Paul Project in Minnesota. He directed a family and children’s services agency in Baltimore before receiving his doctorate in social work from the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Work in 1962.
He was an assistant professor in the School of Social Work at Florida State University from 1963 to 1967. He accepted a position as a full professor at the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Social Work in 1967 and continued to teach graduate students there for 37 years in the areas of public social services administration and organizational development. For the 2002 academic year, he was honored as the Teacher of the Year by his MSW students. For 10 years, he directed the Institute for Social Services Planning.
From 1968 to 1974 he was on the Chapel Hill Planning Board and served as its chair. He was a member of the Orange County Department of Social Services Board from 1990 until 1996. He was a member of the Chapel Hill Rotary Club for more than 20 years and was a Paul Harris Fellow.
Survivors include his wife of 26 years, Lane Gillespie Cooke of Chapel Hill; daughter, Sharon Cooke Padgett and husband Scott of Charlotte; brothers Edward Cooke of Virginia Beach, VA, Denny Cooke and wife Karen of Rocky Mount, Bill Cooke of Lebanon, KY, Bruce Cooke and wife Anne of Williamsburg, VA; numerous nieces and nephews, extended family members and friends. He was predeceased by his parents and his daughter, Patricia Annick Cooke.
A celebration of his life was held at the UNC-CH School of Social Work at 325 Pittsboro St., on Thursday, August 2 at 1:30 pm. He was an avid Tar Heel fan, so Carolina blue attire was deemedappropriate.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent in his honor to the UNC-CH School of Social Work, Campus Box 3550, Chapel Hill NC 27599-3550.