Doyle ("Don") W. Cook, age 82, passed away December 22, 2007, in Yuma, Arizona, his home for about the last three years. Doyle lived in Mount Vernon, Washington from about 1995 to late 2004. Doyle was born to Webster Cook and Minnie Tumlinson in 1925, in Leon County, Texas (roughly between Houston and Waco). At age three, Doyle lost his father to tuberculosis. Thereafter, Doyle was raised primarily by his maternal grandparents. Meanwhile, his mother remarried resulting in the birth of Doyle's younger half-siblings, Bonnie Dell, Betty Jo, and Charles Rogers. Though times were tough for a fatherless young boy growing up in Texas rural poverty in the 20s and 30s, that's not what Doyle remembered most about his upbringing. Rather, it was the Huck Finn/Tom Sawyer lifestyle and shenanigans that, for him, defined those years. Often barefoot and wearing hand-me-down overalls, Doyle preferred the swimming hole or being stretched under a shade tree to confinement in the local schoolhouse. Of course, there was the obligatory work for a youth in those times – chiefly cotton picking when not doing chores for his grandparents. And then there were the relatives who took sly advantage of his desire to help. His much older cousin Harvey induced the gullible Doyle to run through the thicket in order to flush out the panther – aka cougar – so Harvey could get a clear shot (at the panther). Doyle was in bed one Sunday in 1941 when he heard the news that the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor. The next day, December 8, found him lying about his age so he could enlist in the United States Navy (a good choice, he figured, since he knew how to swim). His expectations were dashed somewhat on his first assignment following boot camp – the gleaming battleship with 15 inch guns was, in reality, a very rusty World War I-era oil tanker long past its expiration date. But it was thanks to the Navy and shore leave in Seattle that Doyle met, in 1943, his first and only love of his life, Ethel. While at first Doyle could only spend a brief time with Ethel (there was this pesky matter of a World War), he knew she was the one for him. Unfortunately, forces beyond his control kept him from Ethel for nearly 10 years. But again, the Navy came through for him. Doyle and his fellow carousing sailors were out-of-gas, out-of-money and nearly out-of-time for reporting back to base when Doyle found Ethel's number in the phone book. With a phone call and a quick drive to Ethel's house, Doyle secured from her $5 in gas money, a breakfast Ethel cooked for him and his crew, plus beer from her frig. (Is this a great country or what.) Doyle and Ethel married in September 1953. They would not part again until Ethel's death in December 2002. After 20 years of faithful though sometimes tumultuous service in the Navy that included combat service in both a World War and later a "police action" (the Korean War), numerous fights, and beers too frequent and too many, Doyle retired from the service in 1961 as a first class petty officer. Within a few months he began his second career, starting as a bus driver for Seattle Transit, the forerunner to King County Metro. He would retire from Metro in 1982, as a first line supervisor. The mark he left with Metro echoed that left with the Navy – a supervisor well liked by those below and above him for his fairness in treatment of subordinates while conscientiousness in discharge of duty to employer. Doyle fathered five children, Charles, Raymond, Donald, Dwight and Dennis ("Rusty"). Regrettably, the eldest Charles and the youngest Dennis pre-deceased him. While, as a father, Doyle was somewhat lacking in the patience department and at times too quick to temper, the love he felt for his sons was undying and deep. Perhaps Doyle's greatest accomplishment was the last five years of his life, or since his beloved Ethel died. Burdened by significant physical handicaps that included a failing heart, Doyle courageously found (with help of family and friends) a life for himself without Ethel. True, he went through two too many motor homes, and three or so vehicles. But he continued to find a life to live and enjoy notwithstanding his declining health and the loss of Ethel (the loss that could never be replaced). Besides his surviving sons, Doyle, a devout Roman Catholic, is survived by his sister Betty, his sister-in-law Charlotte Rogers, and all those grandchildren and great grandchildren scattered throughout Minnesota, California and Washington. There will be a viewing at the Hawthorne Funeral Home Chapel, on Tuesday, January 8, 2008, 10:30 a.m., followed by a grave site burial service at 11:00 a.m., at Hawthorne Memorial Park, both located at 1825 E. College Way, Mount Vernon (360) 424-1154. Afterwards, family and friends are invited to attend a reception with refreshments at the residence of Donald M. Heinz, 21820 42nd Dr. NE, Arlington.