ShawneeDispatch.com

Mary Cook first learned to play the organ, out of necessity, when she was 12 at her church in Creston, Iowa.

“A lady bought a brand new organ and donated it to the church, but no one knew how to play it,” she said. “So my piano teacher and I decided we would learn.”

Now, after 56 years of playing the organ and piano in churches everywhere she’s lived, the Shawnee resident is retiring. Her final performance for Leawood Baptist Church, where she has served as organist/ instrumentalist since 1978, was Sunday, when the church celebrated with a large musical service Cook organized.

Cook said she has enjoyed dedicating most of her life to music.

“It’s what I like to do; it’s who I am,” she said. “I was born with this musical talent; I started taking piano lessons when I was 7.”

Cook said learning to play the organ wasn’t too difficult with the ability to play the piano as a base.

“We just figured it out and practiced,” she said. “… and that’s what it takes – determination.”

Cook went to Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa, and majored in voice and music. After graduating and marrying, she went back to her hometown church and then, when her husband was transferred several times for his job with UPS, played in churches all over Iowa.

In 1972, the family moved to Shawnee, and Cook played for Bristol Hill United Methodist Church. Then she went to work as a choral accompanist at Shawnee Mission Northwest High School, a job she held until 2001. Jack Ballard, head of the Northwest music department, was the minister of music at Leawood Baptist and hired Cook to be the organist/ instrumentalist in 1978.

At the church, Cook was involved in anything and everything that required music, so she built up 30 year’s worth of choir and worship band practices. She made the decision to retire about a year and a half ago.

“So I just decided 56 years is a long time,” Cook said of her decision, thinking of the years 1978 and 2008 and the fact that she would be 68 years old. “I thought all those eights just kind of line up, and this would be a good time for me.”

Michelle Patton, the church’s current choir director, said Cook would come in for extra rehearsals at the drop of a hat and had put an incredible amount of time into the church.

“She’s just an extremely dedicated musician and worship leader, and we have been lucky to have her for 30 years,” Patton said.

Cook says she looks forward to being free of the routine practices and being able to spend more time with her husband at their second home in Palm Springs, Calif. But she’s sure she’ll be back to play again from time to time.

“As my youngest son says, ‘Mom, you’ll have the best of both worlds: you can do what you like to do when you want to do it instead of when you have to do it,’” she said.

Cook’s final performance was a feat in itself. She chose all the music, planning the event for the last year, and played for almost every song.

“I didn’t want to sit in a pew watching; I’m a doer, not a watcher,” she said. “I wanted to be included in what was going on.”

The service brought back former choir members and four musical directors, including a surprise guest, local choral writer Mark Hays, who had written a song just for Cook.

“That was really special, because I play his music all the time and he’s a fabulous writer,” she said. “I’d heard he was going to be out of town, and then in he walked in person.”

Cook said she was honored that so many people dedicated their weekend to her final performance.

“I couldn’t have asked for anything nicer,” she said. “I was sitting here reflecting this morning and I thought, what a nice end to a perfectly wonderful career.”

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