Arthur Warren Zook, born April 27, 1930, who passed away Feb. 17, 2012, was the first of six children born to George and Gladys Zook in Newton, Kan.
     He grew up on a farm
in Kansas, attended Zimmerdale Elementary School and graduated from Newton High School in 1949. He then went to Central College in McPherson, Kan., lettering in varsity
baseball. He graduated in the spring of 1951, was drafted into the Army that summer, became a sergeant and spent 14 months in Korea.
     He returned to the states in 1953 and continued his education at Seattle Pacific College, where he met his future wife, Rosemary Holmes. They were married in June of 1954.
     Art graduated from Seattle Pacific in June of 1956 with a degree in physics, a minor in math and a three-week-old son. Art traveled with the space program for the next 20 years, living first in New Mexico, then California and finally in Houston, Texas.           
     In 1976, the family moved to Tonasket, where Art became a refrigeration mechanic for Gold Digger Apples in Oroville. He was equally proud of both of his careers. He was lead engineer on a number of space projects and enjoyed working with astronauts in Houston. He also enjoyed keeping the equipment working properly in the apple warehouses, thus ensuring that farmers’ fruit reached market in prime condition.
     He enjoyed doing volunteer work and went to New York after 9/11 to serve with the Disaster Child Care Program. He was sent to Florida to help after a hurricane and helped build a house in Western Washington. He was active in Kiwanis and was also a volunteer escort at Central Washington Hospital.
     His faith and church were always an important part of his life. He put working and providing for his wife and family and service to others before himself.
     Art is survived by his wife of 57 years, Rosemary; their three children, Craig (Cindy) of Houston; Mike of Norfolk, Virg.; and Teresa (Terry) of Morton, Wash.; two sisters, Marjorie Crego of Wichita, Kan., and Marian Zook-Heidner of Newton, Kan.; brother, Bill Zook of Kansas City, Kan.; and numerous nieces and nephews. Their daughter, Cheryl Nicholson and her husband, Dean, died in 1992. Also surviving are seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
     A memorial service was at noon Saturday, Feb. 25, 2012, at Sunnyslope Church, 3330 School Street, Wenatchee.
     In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Church of Brethren Disaster Relief through Sunnyslope Church.