Pastoral Relative

From: Fr. Anthony Cook franthonyc@
Subject: Distant relative
To: tcschenks@yahoo.com
Date: Monday, March 24, 2008, 2:19 PM

Mr. Schenks,

I found your web blog a few months ago when I was searching for the name of my
great-great grandfather Walter Cook--not as a research project, but just out of
curiousity. I was surprised to find your website pop up at the time, and
intrigued to find that we are, if I am not mistaken, distantly related, as the
text you were quoting from your great-great-great-grandfather's brother G.E.
Ahner was translated by my great-great grandfather, who married G.E. Ahner's
daughter Emma, who passed away in the early 1980's. I thought I would take
the opportunity to introduce myself to you, simply for the pleasure of doing so.
It is not often that one encounters a distant relative.

As I said, Walter Cook was my great-great-grandfather. His son Martin was my
great-grandfather (also a minister)--he was killed in 1948 in a plane crash in
southeast Asia. My grandfather is his son Richard, who had three sons, the
oldest of which, Dan, is my father.

I know that at least some of Walter Cooks descendants still live in Missouri
and perhaps some of the nearby states. I remember visiting several of them
(Paula Cook in particular) in 2002, though as I understand she has passed away
since then. I wonder if you know any of them.

I was curious in particular to know whether you had a copy of the text which
you quoted on your website, translated by Walter Cook from the memoirs of his
father-in-law. I would be very interested to read the entirety of that if you
knew where (or whether) it was published, and wondered as well if you knew of
anything else written by either G.E. Ahner or Walter Cook (or any other mutual
ancestors or relatives). I am myself recently ordained to the priesthood in the
Greek Orthodox Church in the Detroit area, and, while it is of course a
different church than that in which my great, great-great, and great-great-great
grandfathers served, I am nonetheless very interested to know more about them,
their ministry, struggles, families, etc. Any information you could give me
would be greatly appreciated, of course.

In Christ,

Fr. Anthony Cook