Punny Cook

Carolyn Punny Cook died in the Summer of 1971 from a hiking accident Sally Reilly Robinson wrote the following details about Punny Cook:

Punny Cook died in a hiking accident in Boulder Canyon in the Summer of 1971. She died while hiking alone in the mountains. She fell in the creek with her backpack on and got stuck under a fallen tree. Her parents were so friendly and amazing. They lost her brother Cary a few years later. They all loved music and did family performances together. Punny was head over heals for Clark Story’s violin playing. She was in our class and always had a 10:00 curfew. Her boyfriend was Rod Page and she was friends to so many! I’m glad she had a great night and breakfast with friends [Rob Sayre and Kurt Greenwood] before her fateful hike. She was like a sister to me, and I still miss her, especially now. Punny’s smile was amazing. I’m so sorry for the loss of both Punny and Kurt and for Rob Sayre, who lost his two close friends. .

Elizabeth DeLand (Cookie Cook) remembers:

Punny Cook was always friendly and warm to me. I thought she was beautiful. I was so grieved to hear of her passing, and still, after all this time, the memory of her is still with me. She was the first classmate I knew to pass on and it made a big impression. I remember sitting on her kitchen floor and crying during her memorial, and at the same time, feeling God’s presence.

Rob Sayre wrote this remembrance:

Punny was “the girl next door” on Linden Avenue in North Boulder, literally, for about six years. Before that, she lived on Kalmia across the street from Elizabeth Avery, and before that, across the street from Centennial Jr. High. Her family was one of 5-6 others, including mine, who went camping each summer together for about 2 weeks. The kids had a few chores each day. The Dads went fly fishing for the most part. The Moms cooked and talked about the “kids,” cut fire wood, swam, played cards, and generally explored the mountains, streams, and meadows in the area. Platero, Hog Lake, Red Cloud Peak, Lake City and Durango are names that bring back memories of Punny and those times. John Waugh may remember some of these adventures.

Summers on Linden Avenue were always spent in “the pond,” our local swimming hole and in each other’s back yards, at the Waughs’ huge house on the hill, above Linden Avenue or playing games with her two brothers and others. I’m sure many others remember “the pond.” She was a friend, but like family, and just part of my life. Punny was a wholesome and thoughtful girl who grew into a young woman quickly. Her smile was sincere, friendly, and warm. Being that close physically and engaged in family activities over a long period of time, you never consider that the person would not always be around.

Punny graduated early, in Jan. 71, before the rest of us. That summer, Kurt Greenwood and I were staying in a cabin in Coal Creek Canyon, owned by the family of a friend of his. Punny came up. I can’t remember if Kurt or I gave her a ride, but she spent the night. We ate breakfast together and off she went to hike from there to El Dorado Canyon and back home to Boulder. I left the next day to pick fruit on the Western Slope and Kurt went his way. When I returned about a week later, they had found Punny as Sally Reilly described I have never forgotten that image of her walking away, with her backpack on . . . I visited her parents, Jack and Maggie many times when I returned to Boulder to visit my family. Punny was like a sister and we had so many simple, yet common times together. We were always happy to see each other.

One of my lifelong activities is gardening. I learned this from my mother and from Punny’s father, Jack. So, when I tend my garden, I think of Jack and Punny and the love they shared, the special bond a Dad has with his little girl. I think of them together and how happy they both must be.

Sallie Bradford recalls: I loved Punny’s dark brown eyes. She was one of my walking partners on Kalmia, along with Elizabeth Avery.