Steven Ray Cook

Steven Ray Cook was born in Los Angeles on February 19, 1955 to Bayliss Herschal Cook and Maxine Lois Hansen. He was the middle child with 2 older brothers (Mike and Ben) and 2 younger sisters (Annie and Sharon).

As a young boy he lived in many places in Southern California but mostly at his grandparents’ home where he and his siblings were loved by his aunts, uncles, and cousins. He said many times that they were especially spoiled by his Aunt Joy. They moved around a lot. By the time he got to the 4th grade he had gone to 11 different schools in the area. Later his family was able to buy a home in Lincoln, California where he and his siblings went to the local schools and made great friends, especially Rich, Kevin, Bob, and Randy. He also had great experiences with the Byers and the Nichols families. It was a tight knit community and his Lincoln LDS Ward still has reunions every year.

Steve graduated from Adelante High School in 1975 and worked for Fowler Nursery where his favorite job was driving the big machines that planted and harvested. He moved to Utah in 1977 and lived with Rick Swinford who became a lifelong friend. He worked at various jobs including Ollie‘s Garage in Provo where they trained him as a mechanic.

In 1979 he met Patty Shoell on a blind date set up by his sisters, Annie and Sharon. Steve and Pat were married later that year and celebrated their 47th anniversary in December 2025. They were sealed together as a family in the Manti, Utah Temple in 1989.

In 1981 Steve was hired on by Mountain Bell and they moved to Ephraim, Utah. Their three children were all born while they lived there. Steve was a phone service installer and repairman. Then in 1984 he attended Snow College and was promoted to a programmer.

In 1985 they moved to Denver and Steve became a software engineer. As a software engineer, he single handedly wrote and maintained a program that formatted daily reports from about 600 telecommunication communication switches, implementing a significant amount of automation. This program continued to be used for years.

In 1990 the family moved back to Utah and Steve continued working as a software engineer.

In 1998 they moved to Loveland Colorado and Steve worked at the National Office for US West (previously known as Mountain Bell) in Denver.

In 1999 they moved back to Utah, first right outside the Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, and later to Kanab Utah. Here Steve briefly tried his hand at building houses before switching back to software engineering and was given the opportunity to work from home.

After moving around a bit more they ended up in Hurricane Utah. While living there Steve’s kidneys began to fail. Soon he was unable to work, so he retired. Steve and Pat moved in together with their daughter and son-in-law in Sandy, Utah and Steve started dialysis. He was on dialysis for 10 years. He was so grateful to be so close to his children and grandchildren.

Steve had a very mechanical mind and was quite the gearhead. He loved writing computer programs and loved anything about computers. In High School he loved drumming and became very good at it. He got so good at drumming he couldn’t find anyone to teach him. He loved camping, having barbecues, hosting parties, and having any get-together with food. Steve was a serious foodie. He would scour Pinterest for recipes and try them out on his unsuspecting, but mostly receptive, family. Most of his recipes turned out great but we did end up ordering pizza a few times. He was also interested in nutrition and enjoyed researching it.

Steve was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He loved his Heavenly Father and his Savior. He had a special love for President Russel M. Nelson. He served as Sunday School teacher, Scout Leader, Elders Quorum President, and most recently an Elders Quorum Secretary.

Steve and Pat have three children: Steven, Richard, and Melissa. Steven’s girlfriend is Becky and Richard is married to Sarah. Steve has 6 Grandchildren: Julia, Riley, Bekah (who is married to Matthew), Richie, Reanna, and Andrew. Steve also has 3 grand dogs, Kleio, Strelka, and Daisy. Also, many cats and a few lizards.

Steve is survived by his eternal sweetheart, Pat, his sister Annie, brother-in-law Hal, his children and grandchildren, his Aunt Joy and Uncle Chuck, and many nieces, nephews and cousins

Steve’s funeral will be held on Saturday, April 11 at 2:00pm at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Hillcrest 4th Ward located at 8735 Harvard Park Dr Sandy UT 84094 with a Visitation prior from 1:30pm to 2:00pm. Internment will take place at the Sandy City Cemetery at 9000 S 700 E Sandy UT 84070 following the funeral.

Steve’s family would like to thank Steve’s Doctors and Nurses for the good care they gave him throughout his illness. We would also like to thank the Hillcrest 4th Ward and The Sons of Utah Pioneers and North Point Hospice and our nurse, Lori for the help they provided in his last days.   Pat Is so grateful for all the help and support her children and grandchildren have given her and Steve especially in the last months of his life. .