Darrington boy who aged prematurely dies at 13

Published 12:45 pm Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Seth Cook, the Darrington boy whose grace while battling a rare, debilitating and ultimately fatal disease brought him national attention, died at home Monday afternoon. He was 13.

“It’s like a light has gone out,” said Joyce Jones, Darrington’s mayor. “It’s not going to be the same without Seth.”

Seth had been diagnosed early in his life with an extremely rare disease called progeria. It accelerates the aging process at a rate of eight to 10 times faster than normal.

Among other ailments, he had arthritic joints, hardening of the arteries and stunted growth. Last year, he weighed just 25 pounds. “His body is feeling 80,” his mother, Patti Cook, said last year.

Yet Seth is widely remembered as someone who never complained about his many ailments.

Seth was “a very special little boy,” Jones said. He wouldn’t allow people to treat him in any special way because of his disabilities. He wouldn’t stand for it.”

“He was very positive,” she said, at peace with both his disease, and the inevitability of his short life.

Services for Seth are being scheduled today. They are expected to be held at the Glad Tidings Assembly of God Church in Darrington, where he and his family were members.