Howard Cook: Son’s touching and emotional tribute to Ponderosa founder who put ‘Heckmondwike on the map’

Mr Cook, who opened the Heckmondwike centre in 1991, passed away at the weekend after a short illness.

In an emotional interview with the Reporter Series, his youngest son, Adam, said: “He was such a big presence in the area. He did a lot for the local area and he put Heckmondwike on the map with Ponderosa.

“I have lost my Dad from being very fit just four to five months ago. He had worked all of his life. He wasn’t a guy that was going to be poorly. He worked outside for every day of his life.

“It has been very emotional. I haven’t just lost my Dad. I have lost my best friend. He was my inspiration. He was my rock. He was my guidance. He was everything. He was a dad to other people too.

“I will miss him for every single day of my life.”

A well-known figure in the community, who “always wanted to give something back,” Mr Cook, who was born in Leeds, established Ponderosa and the Rural Therapeutic Centre, off Smithies Lane, with his late wife Maureen, to help “bridge the gap” between abled-bodied people and people with learning disabilities.

The facility, which accommodates over 120 animals and species, spread over 11 acres, still looks after 45 people with learning disabilities.

“That is why he got his MBE, for services to the community,” revealed a proud Adam, who, along with his wife, Nicola, and his Dad’s wife, Deborah, who he only wed five months ago, has vowed to carry on the hardworking businessman’s legacy.

He added: “We have promised to continue the great and the good of what he has done. The farm will continue. Ponderosa will continue and we will continue to look after these students and people with learning disabilities.

“We are going to continue. The show must go on and I am going to make him a very proud man.”

Tributes have flooded in from the Heckmondwike community, and beyond, since Adam announced the sad news on Facebook.

“The comments on social media explain it,” he said. “It is humbling because I want to continue his good work. My Dad taught me right and wrong in life. Life is not all about money. Life is about giving back to the community and giving back to people and helping those around us. That is what my Dad has taught me.

“He funded the Heckmondwike Christmas Lights over the years, he funded local football teams, he paid for other people’s funerals - that’s how generous he was. He gave as much support as he could in his life.

“For the Jubilee, me and my Dad put all the bunting up in Heckmondwike town centre. We don’t give to receive; we do it because we’re in a position where we can help our local community.”

The funeral service for Howard Cook will take place at 2pm on Friday, October 20, at the Lakeside Restaurant, which he built, on the Ponderosa site, before a private committal for family and close friends, will take place at Dewsbury Crematorium.

“I am taking him down from David Butterfield Funeral Directors on my JCB down to Lakeside for his last journey,” said Adam.

Our thoughts are with Mr Cook’s wife, Deborah, his two sons, Adam and Steven, daughter-in-laws Nicola and Katherine, and five grandchildren Finlay, Bailey, Miles, Eddie and Evie.