John Henry Cook (May 6, 1902 – May 2, 1980) was a barber and politician in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. He represented

Waterloo North Waterloo North was a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1968. It was located in the province of Ontario. It was created by the British North America Act of 1867 which entitled each of north and s ...

in the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA, french: Assemblée législative de l'Ontario) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by ...

from 1943 to 1945 as a

Co-operative Commonwealth Federation The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF; french: Fédération du Commonwealth Coopératif, FCC); from 1955 the Social Democratic Party of Canada (''french: Parti social démocratique du Canada''), was a federal democratic socialism, democra ...

(CCF) member. The son of Henry Saunder Koch and Lavina Bergey, he was born John Henry Koch in Woolwich township and was educated there, in

St. Jacobs St. Jacobs is a community and former village located in the township of Woolwich, Ontario, Woolwich in Waterloo Regional Municipality, Ontario, Waterloo Region, Ontario, just north of the city of Waterloo, Ontario, Waterloo. It is a popular locati ...

, in Kitchener, in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

and in Newburgh,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. In 1935, Cook married Emma M. Debus. He was secretary-treasurer of the Barbers International Union and president of the Twin Cities Trade and Labor Council. Cook was also a member of the

Knights of Pythias The Knights of Pythias is a fraternal organization and secret society founded in Washington, D.C., on . The Knights of Pythias is the first fraternal organization to receive a charter under an act of the United States Congress. It was founded ...

. He served on Kitchener city council from 1946 to 1956 and from 1958 to 1965. Cook, a

Mennonite Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radic ...

, was of

Pennsylvania Dutch The Pennsylvania Dutch ( Pennsylvania Dutch: ), also known as Pennsylvania Germans, are a cultural group formed by German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. They emigrated primarily from German-spe ...

descent. He died following a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

at the Kitchener-Waterloo Hospital at the age of 77.

References

1902 births 1980 deaths Ontario Co-operative Commonwealth Federation MPPs 20th-century Canadian legislators {{Ontario-MPP-stub