Former Chester alderman dies

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Dean Cook, 70, of Chester passed away on Sunday, July 4 at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, St. Louis, MO. after battling with heart disease for the past four years.

He served as an Alderman in Ward #2 in Chester for four years, the same ward his father had represented. As a community leader, Dean focused on ways to help revitalize the economy and beautify Chester. One of his many accomplishments was the addition of the trees on State Street.

Dean graduated from Chester High School in 1957. He then attended Bailey Technical College and SIU Carbondale.

Dean was a longtime businessman in Farmington, MO, where he owned and operated DAVCO Auto Parts for 20 years. He retired to Chester in 1998. He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church, Chester where he served as an elder, and belonged to the Masonic Lodge #72, Chester.

Survivors include his wife of Chester; father, Frank Cook of Chester; one son, Rob (Julie) Cook of O'Fallon, MO; one daughter, Jayne (Dennis) Baker of Rosemont, MN; four grandchildren: Ryan (Ashley) Baker, Rhiannon Baker, Tricia Cook and Ashley Cook; and one great grandson, A.J. He was preceded in death by his mother.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, July 8, 2010 at Pechacek-McClure Funeral Home, Chester, IL with Rev. Cecil Dunning officiating. Burial will be in the Evergreen Cemetery in Chester. Visitation will be held Wednesday from 4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. and Thursday from 7:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. at the funeral home.

Memorials may be given to the American Heart Association.

A full obituary appears on page 6A of this week's edition.