Member Spotlight >> Dennis & Peggy Cook
Dennis and Peggy Cook have belonged to Kingwood Christian Church since the church began on May 1, 1977, with a meeting at Frank and Joyce Coupal’s home.
When the Coupals advertised the idea of starting a Disciples church in Kingwood, it made sense for the Cooks to get involved. Dennis was raised in a Disciples church, but the closest congregations were in Cypress Creek or downtown Houston.
Twelve families at that first meeting agreed to form a new Disciples of Christ Church.
Dennis was at that first meeting, and Peggy stayed home with their two young sons. But the Cook family quickly got involved in growing the church. The founders started meeting in the Woodland Hills community room and later moved to Woodland Hills Elementary School. The congregation bought a small trailer to haul folding chairs and a portable podium with an amplifier system. The Cooks stored the trailer in their Forest Cove driveway.
Dennis even acquired a mimeograph machine, which had to be cranked to force ink through a stencil and onto paper, to publish the church’s first bulletins.
In 1978, not long after those first meetings, the congregation borrowed $25,000 from the Disciples to buy land that is now home to the church and fellowship hall on Lake Houston Parkway, which was then a dirt road. Dennis remembers taking his sons, Michael and Richard, to help chop firewood and clear brush on the property. The church men’s group sold the
firewood as a fundraiser.
Their son Richard and his wife, MaLinda, were married in the fellowship hall soon after it opened. KWCC is still a family affair for the Cooks. Their granddaughter, Terrie, 19, sings in the choir and grandson, Thaine, 18, works in the AV room during the Traditions service. Their 6-year- old grandson, Camden, attends Worship and Wonder.
The Cooks met in Kansas. Peggy, who was from Coffeyville, Kansas, was attending nursing school in Winfield, not far from Dennis’ hometown of Arkansas City. Each prospective student nurse had to spend a day and night with a senior student nurse at the hospital as part of their training. Peggy was assigned to shadow a student nurse named Marilyn, who had a date that night with her boyfriend, Walt Cook. Marilyn told Walt to bring along his little brother, Dennis.
That blind date led to Peggy and Dennis’ wedding three years later in 1965. In August, they’ll celebrate their 58th wedding anniversary.
Their oldest son, Michael, and his husband, Chris, live in Dallas. Son Richard and his family live in Forest Cove.
After the Cooks married, they lived in Topeka, Kansas, for seven years while Dennis, a chemical engineer, worked for Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. He has business and chemistry degrees from Kansas State University.
They moved to Texas in 1973, where Dennis’ brother, Walt, and his wife Marilyn (Peggy’s nursing partner) lived. Dennis worked for Hudson Engineering and later for other engineering firms before retiring in 2009.
After renting a home in Houston for a year, the couple moved to Forest Cove, near Walt and Marilyn.
Dennis traveled extensively for work, once spending six months in Oman. ”Peggy lived in the same house for 29 years,” he jokes. “I lived in seven states and five countries on four continents.”
Peggy even recorded some of KWCC services to share with Dennis while he was in Oman.
Eventually, they sold their Forest Cove house to their son Richard and moved to a house with a smaller lot nearby.
Although Kingwood Christian Church has grown and changed since they joined it, Dennis said the church has always been blessed with smart, dedicated people willing to do whatever needs to be done. The fellowship hall was built first, and the sanctuary was constructed in 2001.
Years ago, Peggy sang in the choir and Dennis was an elder. More recently, he’s chaired the growth committee and has been active in various work projects.
Dennis had cancer in 2002 and church members rallied around the Cooks, providing weekly meals for months.
“After he recovered from cancer and was able to start coming back. I didn’t want to sit in the choir loft and watch Dennis,” Peggy said. “I wanted to sit with him.”
Her nursing background came in handy then. She worked briefly as a nurse when they were first married but then stayed home to raise the boys. Peggy also worked, for a time, as a preschool teacher in a Mother’s Day Out program.
One of the reasons they still attend KWCC is its welcoming atmosphere. “Some churches say everyone is welcome, but they don’t really mean it,” Dennis said. “We say it and we mean it.”
The diversity in the church - gay and straight, mixed race families and people of all backgrounds is a testament to its commitment to an extravagant welcome. When Michael and Chris come down from Dallas and attend a KWCC service, Peggy said, they’re both always welcomed.
Beyond the welcoming atmosphere, Peggy said the music in the Traditions service is also special to her. “There’s no way to say thank you enough for the comfort of the music,” she said.
“The piano, choir, and special music just draws you in.”
Peggy has a stack of clippings detailing the church history. One lists the church founders. A few other people on that list (Al Bilderback and Greg Ingram) can still be found at KWCC on Sunday morning. Karen and Del Head, who were also church founders, are still members.
“To think we started with that one little meeting,” Dennis said. “But we’ve always had a lot of really good people willing to work and make the church go forward.”
When the Coupals advertised the idea of starting a Disciples church in Kingwood, it made sense for the Cooks to get involved. Dennis was raised in a Disciples church, but the closest congregations were in Cypress Creek or downtown Houston.
Twelve families at that first meeting agreed to form a new Disciples of Christ Church.
Dennis was at that first meeting, and Peggy stayed home with their two young sons. But the Cook family quickly got involved in growing the church. The founders started meeting in the Woodland Hills community room and later moved to Woodland Hills Elementary School. The congregation bought a small trailer to haul folding chairs and a portable podium with an amplifier system. The Cooks stored the trailer in their Forest Cove driveway.
Dennis even acquired a mimeograph machine, which had to be cranked to force ink through a stencil and onto paper, to publish the church’s first bulletins.
In 1978, not long after those first meetings, the congregation borrowed $25,000 from the Disciples to buy land that is now home to the church and fellowship hall on Lake Houston Parkway, which was then a dirt road. Dennis remembers taking his sons, Michael and Richard, to help chop firewood and clear brush on the property. The church men’s group sold the
firewood as a fundraiser.
Their son Richard and his wife, MaLinda, were married in the fellowship hall soon after it opened. KWCC is still a family affair for the Cooks. Their granddaughter, Terrie, 19, sings in the choir and grandson, Thaine, 18, works in the AV room during the Traditions service. Their 6-year- old grandson, Camden, attends Worship and Wonder.
The Cooks met in Kansas. Peggy, who was from Coffeyville, Kansas, was attending nursing school in Winfield, not far from Dennis’ hometown of Arkansas City. Each prospective student nurse had to spend a day and night with a senior student nurse at the hospital as part of their training. Peggy was assigned to shadow a student nurse named Marilyn, who had a date that night with her boyfriend, Walt Cook. Marilyn told Walt to bring along his little brother, Dennis.
That blind date led to Peggy and Dennis’ wedding three years later in 1965. In August, they’ll celebrate their 58th wedding anniversary.
Their oldest son, Michael, and his husband, Chris, live in Dallas. Son Richard and his family live in Forest Cove.
After the Cooks married, they lived in Topeka, Kansas, for seven years while Dennis, a chemical engineer, worked for Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. He has business and chemistry degrees from Kansas State University.
They moved to Texas in 1973, where Dennis’ brother, Walt, and his wife Marilyn (Peggy’s nursing partner) lived. Dennis worked for Hudson Engineering and later for other engineering firms before retiring in 2009.
After renting a home in Houston for a year, the couple moved to Forest Cove, near Walt and Marilyn.
Dennis traveled extensively for work, once spending six months in Oman. ”Peggy lived in the same house for 29 years,” he jokes. “I lived in seven states and five countries on four continents.”
Peggy even recorded some of KWCC services to share with Dennis while he was in Oman.
Eventually, they sold their Forest Cove house to their son Richard and moved to a house with a smaller lot nearby.
Although Kingwood Christian Church has grown and changed since they joined it, Dennis said the church has always been blessed with smart, dedicated people willing to do whatever needs to be done. The fellowship hall was built first, and the sanctuary was constructed in 2001.
Years ago, Peggy sang in the choir and Dennis was an elder. More recently, he’s chaired the growth committee and has been active in various work projects.
Dennis had cancer in 2002 and church members rallied around the Cooks, providing weekly meals for months.
“After he recovered from cancer and was able to start coming back. I didn’t want to sit in the choir loft and watch Dennis,” Peggy said. “I wanted to sit with him.”
Her nursing background came in handy then. She worked briefly as a nurse when they were first married but then stayed home to raise the boys. Peggy also worked, for a time, as a preschool teacher in a Mother’s Day Out program.
One of the reasons they still attend KWCC is its welcoming atmosphere. “Some churches say everyone is welcome, but they don’t really mean it,” Dennis said. “We say it and we mean it.”
The diversity in the church - gay and straight, mixed race families and people of all backgrounds is a testament to its commitment to an extravagant welcome. When Michael and Chris come down from Dallas and attend a KWCC service, Peggy said, they’re both always welcomed.
Beyond the welcoming atmosphere, Peggy said the music in the Traditions service is also special to her. “There’s no way to say thank you enough for the comfort of the music,” she said.
“The piano, choir, and special music just draws you in.”
Peggy has a stack of clippings detailing the church history. One lists the church founders. A few other people on that list (Al Bilderback and Greg Ingram) can still be found at KWCC on Sunday morning. Karen and Del Head, who were also church founders, are still members.
“To think we started with that one little meeting,” Dennis said. “But we’ve always had a lot of really good people willing to work and make the church go forward.”
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This is one in a series of occasional profiles, written by Susan Bullard, on members of Kingwood Christian Church. Love 101: Do Your Part.