Klara Rosa Cook
February 19, 1918 - March 10, 2009

Klara Rosa Cook, 91, of Bloomington, Indiana, and formerly of Huntington, West Virginia, died Tuesday, March 10, 2009, after a brief illness. Klara was born on February 19, 1918 in Zurich, Switzerland, to Ernst R. and Rosa Kamm Vontobel. She studied at the University of Zurich and was the first woman to earn a Ph.D. in Theology at that institution. She came to the United States in April of 1946 on a Unitarian fellowship to study at the Meadville Theological School at the University of Chicago. While in Chicago, she lived at the Channing House and studied with James Luther Adams. In 1947, she attended the Workers� School at the University of Wisconsin, where she met her future husband, William G. Cook, then a graduate student in Economics. They married in 1947 and one daughter, Jessie, was born in 1953. The Cooks continued to work and study in Madison until they moved to Huntington, W.V., Bill Cook�s home, in 1956. In Huntington, the Cooks, together with Bill�s brother, Ed Cook, ran The Effective Advertising Agency until 1959 when they secured teaching positions. Klara was hired by the Ashland Community College [University of Kentucky], where she taught Sociology, Philosophy, Anthropology and, occasionally, German over the years. She was one of the first professors to teach regular college courses within a prison setting and, for years, took her Philosophy students to the federal prison in Summit, Kentucky, for classes. Bill joined the faculty at Marshall University where he taught Economics and Labor History and where he was a founder of the local chapter of the American Federation of Teachers. Together, the Cooks were active in the local labor and civil rights movements. Klara was a life-long member of the NAACP, she participated in the desegregation of local establishments in the Huntington area and she was always proud of her attendance at the 1963 March on Washington. In the 1960s and 1970s, the Cooks were active in the anti-war movements on and off campus. Klara was a long-time member of the Women�s International League for Peace and Freedom and, later, a staunch supporter of the Southern Poverty Law Center, the National Coalition Against the Death Penalty and the Eugene V. Debs Foundation. During all of the years she lived in Huntington, she attended and supported the Unitarian Fellowship there. In 2006, she moved to Bloomington, Indiana to be closer to her daughter and son-in-law. In Bloomington, she joined the Unitarian Universalist Church of Bloomington and enjoyed participating in the Chalice Circles and a Life Stories Class. Klara, who never lost her passion for learning and teaching, was an avid reader, continued to take adult classes in philosophy and, until shortly before her death, taught reading at the Monroe County Jail. Although Klara lived in the U.S. from 1946 until her death, she remained a Swiss citizen, maintained close ties with her family and many friends there and enjoyed visiting her homeland. Klara was preceded in death by her parents, Ernst R. and Rosa Kamm Vontobel and her brother, Jacques Vontobel, all of Zurich, Switzerland, and her husband, William G. Cook, of Huntington, W.V. She is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Jessie Cook and Steve Dillon of Bloomington, IN; by her sisters-in-law, Verena Vontobel of Zurich [widow of Jacques Vontobel], Celina Cook [and husband, Dewey Cook] of Huntington and Christine Cook [widow of Ed Cook] of Florida; a niece, Dr. Regula Tedaldi [and husband, Rico, and son, Michel] and two nephews, Ruedi Vontobel [and wife, Eva, and children, Sophie and Moritz] and Dr. Balthasar Vontobel [and wife, Iris, and children, Jonathan and Tobias], all of Zurich, Switzerland. Funeral services will be at Chapman's Mortuary in Huntington, W.V. on Sunday, March 22, 2009 at 1:00 p.m. Private burial will follow at Ridgelawn Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, P.O.B. 845259, Boston, Mass. 02284 or to the Huntington Area Food Bank at 1327 Seventh Avenue, Huntington, W.V. 25701.