Curtis Cook Obituary

Cook
Avis Lorraine
(Barbour) Cook
August 18, 1937
October 27, 2025

Born in Denver on August 18, 1937, the fourth and last child of Jane Fay Barbour and Ancel Baxter Barbour, died October 27, 2025. Raised in Denver, graduating from South High School in 1955, then attending University of Northern Colorado (Colorado State College of Education at that time) and University of Denver. Married Curtis on June 3, 1959, in that stage of her life accompanying him hither and yon during his military career. On getting family and children sufficiently established, she completed undergraduate studies at the University of Maryland and commenced teaching in Montgomery County. Her first of many creative projects in education was to join the cadre establishing an outdoor education program for elementary students in Montgomery County. Returning to Colorado in 1974, she joined the teaching staff of District 38, first at Palmer Lake Elementary. During the following 27 years, she taught at one time or another all elementary grades in all of the elementary schools in the district at the time.
"Containing her energy is like containing a cloud," one of her supervisors exclaimed.
Time after time she generated ways to enrich her classroom and her school, and find avenues for her pupils to serve their larger community. She organized children to make Christmas tree ornaments, some displayed at the Fine Arts Center and some even in the State Senate. She organized a fifth grade mini-mart where pupils could make objects to buy and sell, teaching principles of economics. She organized children to make decorated paper lunch bags to be used by Project Angel Heart, a charity.
"Art is not a mirror held up to reality, but a hammer with which to shape it." -Bertold Brecht. Indeed. Avis was called on to establish a gifted and talented program for the District 38 elementary schools. Her program married art and science. Notable was her hot air balloon project, GT children making balloons as an art project then flying them as science. (Some balloons fell to the ground; some were never seen again.) Each child is gifted in some way, her mantra, and art uncovers the gift. Art also stimulates imagination and in turn creativity, she insisted, virtues that carry over not just to artistic endeavor but also to science.
Soon STEM came along, with its concentrated focus, and Avis returned to the elementary classroom. This time the classroom was in the aged building that had been the original D-38 high school. She had it named Grace Best Elementary, honoring a retired District 38 elementary school teacher who, like her, had enduring effect on her colleagues and students.
Equally involved in civic affairs, Avis was, for example, the community leader in getting Monument's Dirty Woman Park built. Then she directed the Monument Fourth of July parade, doing so in part to make Dirty Woman Park destination for the parade. Dedication of the park was thus included in the festivities. That was the first, last and only time the parade crossed the railroad tracks that divide Monument from the park. In order to make that route possible, she had to persuade leadership of the railroad to avoid sending a train across the intersection during the parade. The exclamation point of her success was a train, sitting silent vigil just north of the parade route as scout troops, antique cars, high school bands and horses passed by — along with soldiers from Ft. Carson's construction unit, there to enjoy the community's gratitude for the work they had done building the park as a training and civic action project.
Avis continued her involvement in art projects to the larger Colorado Springs community. In company with other like-minded volunteers, she was prime mover in bringing the Kennedy Center Imagination Celebration train to Monument and to Colorado Springs. This train brought some of the world's greatest art from the Smithsonian to school viewers. Also in company with others, she was instrumental in a highly successful fringe art show, "Body Packaging," running for several years at City Auditorium. She was among the founding cadre for PAYO — Performing Arts for Youth Organization. This program brought professional theater to classrooms, to perform and interact with students.
Even in retirement Avis was never far from D-38 schools, volunteering in a number of ways and teaching after school. Drawing on her comprehensive knowledge of the course of elementary education as it fits into childhood development, she offered after school science to second grade girls, intending to plant that interest in time for it to gestate.
She was honored by the TriLakes Chamber of Commerce for "Outstanding Community Service"; by the Forest Service for her work in having Monument designated a Tree City USA; by the Colorado Council for Exceptional Children with its Outstanding Service and Teaching Accomplishments Award; by the Colorado Springs Arts/Business/Education Alliance with its Certificate of Recognition for contributions to and support of arts education; by the Monument-Palmer Lake Kiwanis Club with its "Citizen of the Year" award; and by the National Geographic Society. On retiring, she was inducted into the Lewis-Palmer School District Hall of Fame for her remarkable achievements in elementary teaching, special projects, and continued volunteer efforts.
In the introduction at her Hall of Fame induction, she was called "the teacher all of us wanted our kids to have."
Of the many admirable qualities in her personality, empathy stands out. This quality made her an endearing friend, an effective elementary school teacher, and a formidable bridge player.
Avis is survived by Curtis, her spouse of 66 years; by daughter and son-in-law Jennifer and Masa Ito, and by son and daughter-in-law Bradford and Pamela Cook.
A celebration of life is planned at the Hearth House Venue in Monument on Saturday, January 10 at 12:30.