William Wilson Cook, Jr.

William Wilson “Bill” Cook, Jr., 89, of Beatrice, Nebraska, passed away on August 30, 2026 in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Bill was born on February 19, 1937 in Beatrice, Nebraska to William Wilson Cook, Sr. and Margaret Ruth Lawrence Cook. During WWII the family had a large garden in their backyard. Bill’s parents provided him with a red wood wagon to go around their neighborhood selling produce. He spent summers at camp at Wentworth Military Academy in Lexington, Missouri and with his parents in Canada. He also worked on his family’s farm, hauling milk to the local creamery before school. Bill participated in football and track, throwing the shot put and discus.

Upon graduation from Beatrice High School in 1955, Bill enrolled in Wentworth Military Academy Junior College in Lexington, Missouri. While at Wentworth, he played football and participated in track. He spent one semester at Kansas State University on a football scholarship before an injury ended his athletic career. Bill graduated in 1960 from the University of Nebraska with a B.S. in Business Administration. He was also a graduate of the Northwestern University School of Financial Public Relations, American Bankers Association National Commercial Lending School, and Harvard Business School Seminar for Senior Bank Officers. Bill served in the U.S. Army Reserve as a Captain in Artillery.

It was on a blind date at Christian College in Columbia, Missouri where he met his future wife, Betty Clark, an accomplished horsewoman from Clarksville, Arkansas. They were united in marriage on August 9, 1958 in a candlelight ceremony at First Methodist Church in Clarksville.

Bill and Betty made their home in Beatrice where they welcomed two children, daughter Carol Elizabeth Cook, and son William Wilson “Bill” Cook, III. Bill joined the Beatrice National Bank and Trust Company in the Spring of 1961 as head teller. After serving in various capacities, he was elected President of the bank in January of 1969, elected Chief Executive Officer in 1971, and also served as Chairman of the bank’s Board of Directors and as a Trust Officer. Bill held a firm belief that the main purpose of community banks was to serve the local community and its people through investing in both. He took pride in helping small businesses and farmers meet their goals. He retired from banking in 2002.

Other business affiliations included Past-President and Director of Cook Investment, Inc., a multibank holding company; Director at Wymore State Bank and Pickrell State Bank; Past-President and Director of Mid-Beatrice, Inc., Beatrice Safe Deposit Company, Gage, Inc., and Beatrice Leasing Company; and Past-Director of Lincoln Telecommunications Company, Ameritas Life Insurance Corporation, The Kansas Bankers Surety Company, and the Omaha Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.

Bill was a firm believer in giving back to his community, state, and region. He worked diligently on projects and with organizations to help Beatrice and its citizens thrive and grow. Local organizations he was proud to serve included Gage County Foundation, Beatrice Christmas Lights, Jaycees, Community Chest, Good Samaritan Center, Chamber of Commerce, Rotary, YMCA, Country Club, Airport Authority and Foundation, First Presbyterian Church, Gage County Industrial Corporation, Charter Member Beatrice Educational Foundation, and the Newcomen Society. He was a life-long member of the Beatrice First Presbyterian Church.

On the state level Bill served as President of the Nebraska Bankers Association and Group 1 of the Nebraska Bankers Association, Chair of the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Nebraska Aeronautics Commission Commissioner, Ak-Sar-Ben Ambassador, Nebraska Diplomats, Nebraskaland Foundation Board Member, Nebraska Safety Council President, Member of the Executive Committee of the Nebraska Council on Economic Education, Nebraska Jaycees Treasurer, and served the University of Nebraska on the President’s Advisory Council, Foundation Trustee and Finance Committee, Alumni Association Board of Directors, and Athletic Department Director’s Club.

Nationally, Bill was State Vice President for Nebraska for the American Bankers Association (ABA), a member of the ABA Community Bankers Advisory Council, and a member of the ABA Banking Advisory Council. He was a delegate to the 2020 Republican National Convention.

Bill’s fraternal memberships included Past Potentate of the Sesostris Temple, Blue Valley Shrine Club, Royal Order of Jesters Court #118, Past President Shrine Bowl of Nebraska, Beatrice York Rite Bodies, Lincoln Scottish Rite Bodies, Beatrice Eagles Club, Beatrice Elks Lodge, Beatrice Lodge #26 A.F. & A.M., and Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity. He was a 33rd Degree Scottish Rite Mason.

His honors include the University of Nebraska Alumni Association Alumni Achievement Award, UNL College of Business Alumni Achievement Award, University of Nebraska Alumni Association Family Tree Award, and Beatrice Educational Association Hall of Fame. He was proud to be the Grand Marshall of the 2021 Homestead Days Parade and to flip the switch to light the Beatrice Holiday Lights in 2024. In 2008, Bill and Betty were recipients of the Clarence E. Swanson Meritorious Service Award presented by the Nebraska Chapter of the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame for their support of Husker athletics. He received the Beatrice Jaycees Distinguished Service Award, Nebraska Jaycee Outstanding Young Man Award, and Beatrice Jaycee Boss of the Year Award.

Bill was a devoted husband and father. He was a Mr. Fixit, teaching his children you can repair most things if you read the instructions, but also that there is a time you need to call in the pros. He spent endless hours with his family fishing at Rockford Lake, teaching sports skills including water skiing on skis he had made, and how to grill the perfect rare steak. He enjoyed spending time with his grandsons, and was proud to watch them on the field and stage. He loved cheering on the Huskers, hunting, fishing, and flying. He held a private pilot license with multi-engine and instrument ratings. He was privileged to help transport children and their families to the Shriners Children’s Hospital for evaluation and treatment.

The true character of a person is seen in the deeds they quietly do with their fellow humans when no one else is looking. We will never know all the ways Bill helped and supported people in Beatrice. We do know one act he was most proud of and humbled by was his sponsorship of Gage County children for treatment at the Shriner’s Hospital. The only outward acknowledgement of this we ever saw our dad express was his proud wearing of a small gold lapel pin in the shape of a crutch. His final act of service to others was as a tissue donor through Live on Nebraska.

Bill is survived by his two children Carol Cook Geu (Tom) of Vermillion, SD and Bill Cook, III (Denise) of Gilbert, AZ. Grandsons Bill Cook, IV (Victoria), Taylor Geu, and Cole Cook (Mattie). And great granddaughter Elizabeth Cook.

He was preceded in death by his wife Betty Clark Cook, an infant son, his parents, sister Martha Cook Fricke, and sister Mary Cook Schiermeyer-Marsh.

A Celebration of Life Service will be held September 12, 2026 at 10:30 a.m. at First Presbyterian Church, 321 N. 5th Street in Beatrice with Pastor Doris Martin officiating. The church will livestream the service. The family requests attendees wear their best Husker gear to celebrate a life well-lived. No visitation will be held. A family prayer service will be held at 10:15 a.m. Saturday at the church. In lieu of flowers the family requests memorials to the Beatrice Public Library Foundation, Beatrice Humane Society, or the Shriners Hospital for Children with the funeral home in charge. Private inurnment at Evergreen Home Cemetery in Beatrice, Nebraska.

These services have been entrusted to the Griffiths-Hovendick Chapel in Beatrice.