Seth leaves lasting legacy
Published 11:31 pm Tuesday, June 26, 2007
DARRINGTON – Seth Cook, the Darrington youth whose grace while battling a rare, debilitating and ultimately fatal disease brought him national attention, died at home Monday.
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” is how his mother, Patti Cook, once described his condition.
Yet Seth is widely remembered as someone who never complained about his many physical 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, she said.
He was at peace with both his disease, and the inevitability of his short life, she said.
“We were so very, very fortunate to have him for the time we did,” Jones said.
Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Glad Tidings Assembly of God Church in Darrington. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations to the Sunshine Foundation or Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center.
“He was a wonderful, amazing child, full of life and love and always cared about other people,” his great-aunt, Sherrie Barker of Darrington, said Tuesday. “He was just a joy.”
Seth was known for his indefatigable spirit while living with a disease so rare that only one in a million children has it. It won him respect and affection, both in his hometown and across the nation.
Last year, a story of his life was broadcast on national television. It was previewed by a packed crowd at the town’s high school.
“He was really a joy in this community, even though he was so fragile,” said Pastor Les Hagen, minister of the Glad Tidings Assembly of God Church, where the Cooks are members.
“People just loved him. He knew everybody. It’s going to be difficult for this community.”
Seth had been hospitalized at Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle for several weeks about a month ago, Hagen said, and his health declined rapidly after returning home.
Hagen said Seth’s life reminded him of the biblical story where King David had served God’s purpose and then he died.
“That was my thought with Seth,” Hagan said, “that he’s served his purpose in our community and so God took him home.”
Among the many reminders of Seth in his hometown is a copy of a photo of him and his dad, Kyle Cook, that is tacked to the wall in the local IGA grocery store. Taken on a deer-hunting trip in Montana last fall, it shows them with their trophy, a white-tailed buck.
Seth or his family members were in the store nearly every day, said Sheila Ashe, whose husband helps manage the store. “We were all friends.”
Seth was named a Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy on Oct. 13, 2004, and was outfitted with an official uniform, tailored especially to his small size.
“Every time he wore it at a function for us, I gave him a bad time,” said Sheriff Rick Bart. Seth wouldn’t wear the customary black shoes required of deputies, instead preferring his sneakers.
Bart’s last visit with Seth was about a week ago. Seth showed him a new hunting knife. “He was a big hunter and fisherman, like I am,” Bart said. “We had a good visit.”
Seth knew death was coming early, accepted it and even welcomed it, Bart said. “In his mind, he was going to be with God and everything was going to be fine.
“He was just such a big part of the community,” Bart said. “It’s a huge loss.”
Seth was the kind of person that “when you were with him, you were happy,” Bart said.
“He gave you hope. When you saw how happy he was, you’d walk away from there feeling like your problems were nothing compared to Seth’s.”
Reporter Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486 or salyer@heraldnet.com.
