Harry Clare Cook, who moved to Bridgehampton after his retirement in 1985, and then to Peconic Landing in Greenport in 2002, died at Peconic Landing on June 28, just two weeks shy of his 89th birthday.

Born in Richmond Hill, Queens, on July 13, 1920, Mr. Cook graduated from Jamaica High School in 1938.
In 1937 he advanced to Eagle Scout, making him at the time of his death one of the oldest Eagle Scouts in New York.
He attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, New York, receiving a bachelor’s degree in metallurgical engineering in 1942.

After graduation, he remained at RPI as a graduate assistant in metallurgy.
At that time Curtiss-Wright Aeronautical Company sent 100 young women to Troy to study engineering. The “Curtis-Wright cadettes“ were part of an innovative program to solve the aeronautical company’s steadily dwindling supply of graduate engineers during wartime.
One student, Jean Schaaff, caught the eye of Mr. Cook, and they were married in 1944, a year after he joined the United States Navy.

While in the Navy, Mr. Cook was assigned to further schooling at Princeton and Massachusetts Institute of Technology before going to Washington, D.C. to attend Radar Countermeasures School. After more training in San Francisco for an assignment commanding a four-man radar countermeasures team, he sailed for Pearl Harbor, then on to the Philippines and a series of 7th Fleet ships to oversee countermeasure equipment for use in the
Pacific. He transferred to the 5th fleet off Okinawa, but when the war ended he boarded the USS Denver as a radar officer on a rescue mission to Japan, before heading for home and release from the service as a lieutenant in the Reserves.

With the passage of the Government Issue Bill, Lieutenant Cook returned to RPI as an instructor in physics, and earned his master’s degree in metallurgy.
After graduation he was hired by Brookhaven National Laboratories as a welding metallurgist engaged in the construction of the first peacetime atomic pile.

In 1950 he joined the Air Reduction Company in Murray Hill, New Jersey, where he worked until 1955, when he joined Esso Research and Engineering. There he was assistant director of pipeline research and later head of quality assurance. That job involved resident assignments in England, Venezuela, and Italy, and Mr. Cook and his growing family enjoyed seeing the world before his retirement in 1985.

The Cooks retired to the East End of Long Island where Mr. Cook became the 13th generation of his family to reside in the area.
They bought a house on four acres off Sagaponack Road in Bridgehampton where the joys of sailing, carpentry, and antique motor cars for Mr. Cook’s attention.
Mr. Cook, who had been a lifeguard over summers in college, loved to swim.

In addition to working on his hobbies, Mr. Cook was an active participant in local organizations. He could be seen in his green Hampton Library apron at every “Fridays at Five,” cheerfully pouring wine and sodas for thirsty patrons waiting to hear local authors talk about their books. At the Bridgehampton Historical Society’s annual Engine Run in August he could be found churning out homemade peach ice cream.

If the fan belt broke on the cider press, Mr. Cook could fix it. If a platform was needed for a display, he could build it. If the speaker system began to squawk behind the library, he could bring it back to life.
. At Peconic Landing, he turned his talents to the construction and operation of the big model railroad there.
He was also on the board of directors of the not-for-profit Brecknock Hall Foundation, established for the preservation of the 19th century Italianate mansion on the property.

He is survived by his wife, Jean Schaaff Cook; three daughters, Megan Cook Firquet of Sag Harbor, Deborah Sior of Saranac Lake and Susan Cook of Massachusetts; three sons, Christopher Cook and Peter Cook, both of Sag Harbor, and James Cook of Michigan; and 13 grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, July 25, at 11 a.m., at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Bridgehampton. The Rev. Alison Cornish will officiate.

In lieu of flowers, donations to the Brecknock Hall Foundation, Brecknock Road, Greenport, NY 11944 would be appreciated by the family.