Roy Lee Cooke
Encyclopedia
Roy Lee Cooke is an American who was a founding member of the Big Creek Missile Agency and one of the original Rocket Boys
Rocket Boys
Rocket Boys is the first memoir in a series of three, by Homer Hickam, Jr. It is a story of growing up in a mining town, and a boy's pursuit of amateur rocketry in a coal mining town. It won the in 1998, the year of its release. Today, it is one of the most often picked community/library reads in...

. His character in the Universal Pictures film October Sky
October Sky
October Sky is a 1999 American biographical film directed by Joe Johnston, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Chris Cooper and Laura Dern. It is based on the true story of Homer Hickam, a coal miner's son who was inspired by the launch of Sputnik 1 to take up rocketry against his father's wishes, and who...

was played by William Lee Scott
William Lee Scott
William Lee Scott is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of dim-witted high school student Stanley "Bullethead" Kuznocki on the WB sitcom The Steve Harvey Show...

. He is the son of Wiley Clay Cooke and Carrie Agostino Cooke of Coalwood
Coalwood, West Virginia
Coalwood is an unincorporated coal mining town in McDowell County, West Virginia, USA. As of the 1990 Census, the population was 900. The coal mine in Coalwood reached its peak in the 1960s and finally shut down production on October 1, 1982...

, in McDowell County, West Virginia
McDowell County, West Virginia
McDowell County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The land that became McDowell was originally part of Tazewell County, Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 22,113. Its county seat is Welch. McDowell county is the southern-most county in the state, geographically...

.

When Cooke was 13, his father died at the age of 45, after working his entire adult life in the Coalwood mine. His mother then began working in the school cafeteria to support the two of them.

Cooke later attended Big Creek High School
Big Creek High School
Big Creek High School was a Grade 9 through 12 public high school located in War, West Virginia. It was operated by the McDowell County Schools and governed by the McDowell County Board of Education...

. It was there that Cooke and his friends Jimmy "O'Dell" Carroll, Homer Hickam, Jr., Billy Rose, Sherman Siers and Quentin Wilson formed the Big Creek Missile Agency. Cooke was a member of the football team, too, playing running back
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...

. In addition, he was active in a variety of clubs in high school. The thespian club named him best thespian during his senior year at BCHS.

After graduating high school, Cooke began his college career at Concord College
Concord University
Concord University is a comprehensive, public, liberal arts institution located in Athens, West Virginia, United States, founded on February 28, 1872, when the West Virginia Legislature passed "an Act to locate a Branch State Normal School, in Concord Church, in the County of Mercer".Founded by...

 in Athens, West Virginia
Athens, West Virginia
Athens is a town in Mercer County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 1,102 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Bluefield, WV-VA micropolitan area which has a population of 107,578. It is the home of Concord University.-History:...

. He later transferred to the University of Maryland
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...

 where he earned a degree. He is also a graduate of the American Institute of Banking in Washington, D.C.

Now retired from banking after 25 years in that profession, Cooke has been President of Carolina Domestic Coal since 1986. He is the owner of The Cooke Company, a company devoted to bringing new businesses and venture capital into West Virginia. His company, The Red Shield LLC is the Master Developer of the City of Fairmont, WV.

He maintains a wide range of civic and business interests in the Appalachian area, including support of the West Virginia Access Center for Higher Education. Additionally, he has New Horizons Computer Learning Centers in several states, and started the Prodigy Foundation to support education and jobs in West Virginia. Each year, The Prodigy Foundation awards an outstanding teacher that has overcome great obstacles to be in that profession, The West Virginia School Teacher of the Year, in memory of Frieda Riley
Freida J. Riley
Freida Joy Riley was an American science and math teacher. She taught at Big Creek High School in War, West Virginia during the late 1950s and early 1960s while suffering from Hodgkin's disease.-Life:...

, his high school science teacher.

He started the History & Culture Institute of Mining in 2007, and besides the museum, has worked to establish a National Miner's Day. As a result of his grassroot effort, helped to cause the State of West Virginia to create a State Miner's Day in 2006. In 2008, he was appointed to the Board of the Mission West Virginia Foundation.

Cooke has appeared at several colleges and other organizations throughout the country. He has presented keynote speeches at the West Virginia Small Business Administration and the Appalachian College Association. He also regularly speaks at schools and libraries nationwide.

Governor Underwood
Cecil H. Underwood
Cecil Harland Underwood was an American Republican Party politician from West Virginia, known for the length of his career. He was the 25th and 32nd Governor of West Virginia from 1957 until 1961 and from 1997 until 2001. He ran for reelection in 2000 but was defeated by Bob Wise...

 named him a Distinguished West Virginian in 1999, and in 2002, the current Governor, Manchin, then Secretary of State, appointed him a Member of the 35th Star.

Cooke resides in Irmo, South Carolina
Irmo, South Carolina
Irmo is a town in Lexington and Richland counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina and a suburb of Columbia. It is 12 miles outside of the city center of Columbia and is part of the Columbia Metropolitan Statistical Area...

. However, he divides his time between his businesses in West Virginia and South Carolina.
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