The Morris Cook Memorial Scholarship

“A Star That Was Beginning to Shine”

Morris Daniel Cook was born on November 13, 1984.  Morris tragically departed this life on September 4th, 2004, at the tender age of nineteen years old from gun violence. He was also known as “MO” “Bird” and attended Public School 160Q, Junior High School 217Q: Thomas Edison, and August Martin High School, where he received his Regents Diploma.  Morris had a dream to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather, father, uncles, and oldest brother to drive a tractor-trailer.  That is why he went on to D. Pinto Driving School, which prepared him for his Commercial Driver’s License, CDL, which he received in July 2004, with many endorsements. To further that dream, he took the sanitation exam and scored a very high mark of 105. He was called for training just nine months after his death.

He started his employment at Burger King, then Kennedy Airport.  In 2002, he joined the staff at I.S. 166 in Brooklyn as a School Aide. Morris was determined to make a positive mark in life, and that is what he did with the moral and spiritual training he received.

Morris was vibrant, jovial, and full of life. He displayed this with a smile, smirk, or raising his eyebrows. Morris touched the lives of many. He had a special relationship with each family member. Those who had the opportunity to know Morris were left with a lasting impression.

He was always ready to help and would do so without much fuss. He always had something to say or do to show his wits. For instance, he said, “If I get a grade of 65 or 95, I still will only get one credit.”

With Morris's life cut short, he was missed by his Father because he was his right-hand man and would watch basketball games with him.  He could no longer go to Red Lobster with only his Mom, receive truck driving training from his oldest brother, David, hang out with his second oldest brother, Rod as he called him, put his youngest brother in a headlock; get a sisterly hug from his only sister, Cierra, and do so many things with the friends he met along the way.

Although he is not physically with us, the fond memories that each one of us has will ALWAYS bring a smile to our faces. Morris was truly “A Star That Was Beginning to Shine.”