Item R-P81.0675 - 12 Suite Apartment Building

Ralph H. Cook was born on March 24, 1927. He attended Haultain School as a child and Central Collegiate, where he was active in student council, basketball and army cadets and was an honours student. He graduated from Central Collegiate in 1945 and went on to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1949 from the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon. While attending university, Cook taught classes in welding and blacksmithing at the university.

From 1949 to 1956, Cook worked as chief engineer for Northwestern Iron Works Limited, his father's company, in Regina. In 1954, a group from the third generation of the Cook family, which included Ralph Cook, purchased the company from the second generation of the Cook family. In 1956 the company was sold to a local business consortium. Ralph Cook continued to work for the company through repeated name changes. In 1964 Cook established his own private consulting engineering practice, acting as prime consultant for the business. Cook was an independent engineer who was also certified to do limited architectural work. These dual qualifications made Cook unique in his fields. In 1986, after heart transplant surgery, Cook semi-retired, working part-time from his home in Pilot Butte.

Cook's engineering and architectural work spanned a variety of types of projects, including businesses, schools, office buildings, hospitals and apartment buildings. Cook held engineering certification in many jurisdictions throughout Canada and the United States. His projects include: a design for a large diameter pipe mill in Regina, Saskatchewan; the central library facility for the Provincial Library of Saskatchewan; central laundries for hospitals in Regina, Selkirk (Manitoba), Omaha (Nebraska) and New York (New York); a pipe mill in Red Deer, Alberta; and mobile home manufacturing plants in Lloydminster, Cobourg (Ontario), Windsor (Ontario), and Fredricton (New Brunswick). His firm was also involved in the structural design of the main clinker building of Saskatchewan Cement Company; the H.S.S. Truss design crane at the Big Inch Pipe Mill; the main crane runway at IPSCO; a fabrication shop to manufacture and assemble 60 ton sections of tunnel liner for the Gardiner Dam; and 100 ton gate hoists for the Squaw Rapids Dam. Cook designed the first light standards for Taylor Field, which enabled television broadcasts of Saskatchewan Roughrider games. He also designed a 36,000 square foot portable stage for the opera Aida. Many of Cook's projects were built in small towns, Indian reserves and smaller cities around Saskatchewan.

Ralph Cook married Norma Jean Robinson on June 25, 1949. They had two children: Mike, born in 1951, and Susan, born in 1955. They had two grandchildren from their son Mike: Stuart and Sarah. Norma Jean Cook worked with her husband in the capacity of executive assistant, which involved editing and specifictions. They lived in Regina until 1972, when they moved to an acreage in Pilot Butte. In 1975 they began renovations on their "dream home", a former railway station. Their move to the country was necessary to accomodate their growing interest in equestrianism. Ralph Cook wanted to breed and train thoroughbreds, while Susan Cook was involved in riding and showing in Dressage. Ralph and Norma Jean were avid equestrians. Ralph designed the selection trail course for the Saskatchewan Equestrian Team for the Summer Games. In 1976 Ralph and Norma Jean Cook both served as jump judges at the Olympics in Bromont, England.

Ralph Cook was a founding member of The Prairie Hearts, an organization for people who are awaiting or have undergone a heart transplant. He spoke often about the benefits of organ donation. He was also a member of the Masonic Orders ans was a Shriner. Ralph and Norma Jean Cook were both active members of the United Church, and Ralph Cook designed the United Church in Pilot Butte in 1987.

Ralph Cook died in 1996.