Hiram Cook, Jr., 86, passed away, Friday, August 1, 2025, at McLeod Regional Medical Center of the Pee Dee after an illness.
Funeral services will be held 4:00 P.M. Tuesday, August 5, 2025, at Cooper Funeral Home with burial in Greenlawn Cemetery. Visitation will be 3:00-4:00 P.M. prior to the service at the funeral Home.
Born in Dillon County, March 4, 1939, he was the son of the late Hiram Cook, Sr. and Mary George Cook. He was a member of Pleasant Grove Baptist Church, retired from Wix, and retired from Dillon County in June after 23 years of service. Cook was inducted into the Hall of Fame SC USSSA October 17, 1992. He helped get SC USSSA off the ground along with Rinehardt, who was the first director of USSSA in the State of South Carolina. Cook began with USSSA as an umpire in 1979. In 1982, he began directing tournament. Over the past ten years, he has worked continuously to expand the game in the state. He was named United States Slow-Pitch Softball Association (USSSA) umpire-in-chief for the state of South Carolina. In order to become a USSSA umpire, Cook had to be appointed by State Director Waye Rinehart and approved by Regional Vice President Sid Boyette. Cook got his softball umpiring experience as a result of six years’ work with the Amateur Softball Association (ASA). He is the only umpire in Dillon County sanctioned by either the ASA or the USSA, and he is sanctioned by bother organizations.
Survivors include his wife of 59 years, Jeannette Whittemore Cook of Dillon; daughter, Kimberly Jean Cook of Dillon; son, Jeffrey Cook of Dillon; brother, Jesse Davis Cook of Dillon; nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Hiram and Mary Cook; granddaughter, Angel Nicole Byrd; and sisters, Barbara Ann Rogers and Rachel Brooks.
