Services for Clifford Earl Cook, 80, of Lompoc, will be 10 a.m. Friday, August 26, 2011 at the chapel of Starbuck-Lind Mortuary with Pastor Gilbert Stones of the First United Methodist Church officiating. Private burial will be at the Lompoc Evergreen Cemetery.
Clifford was born on July 18, 1930, in Selma, California to Earl Milton Cook and Verona Cook. He died on August 15, 2011 in Lompoc. He is survived by his wife, Mary Lou Cook and his sons, Terry, Mike, and Marvin.
Cliff graduated from Santa Maria High School in 1948. He served in the US Navy as a seaplane tender and was in the Naval reserve for 5 years.
An entrepreneur at an early age, Cliff started a motorcycle shop in Santa Maria and then a trucking business in Fresno. He then become a certified welder and began working at Vandenberg AFB.
In 1978, Cliff began Cook's Welding and Machine and provided valuable service to the space program at Vandenberg AFB. Cliff retired in 1996.
Cliff and Mary Lou loved to travel and took many trips to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. They also traveled to Thailand, Hong Kong, and much of Europe. They also enjoyed skiing and fishing at Lake Nacimiento.
Cliff enjoyed racing and drove stock cars, dragsters, and motorcycles, and was very successful.
Cliff was preceded in death by his parents; sister, Joyce; and brothers Delbert and Marvin.