City of Oaks Funeral Home & Cremation
Obituary
Dr. Roger Hawley Crook
Cary, North Carolina
Age 101.
Died 12/02/2022.
October 5, 1921 - December 2, 2022
The gifts that he gave were that
some would be apostles,
some prophets, some evangelists,
some pastors and teachers.
-Ephesians 4:11
Dr. Roger Hawley Crook, born on October 5, 1921, near Concord, North Carolina, died on December 2, 2022. He was the son of William Murphy Crook and Mary Blanch Crook, and had three older brothers: Vernon, Elroy, and Harold. When his father William Crook died in 1939, the writer of his obituary characterized him as “….having the combined elements of a superior mentality and the spirit of humility that characterize all Christian gentlemen. As a teacher, he was a genius. He could hold in a smooth persuasive manner the attention of his boys when imparting to them the fundamentals of an education, and by his exemplary life inspire the highest ideals of correct living.” Likewise lived Roger Crook.
Dr. Crook studied at Mars Hill Junior College and received the B.A. from Wake Forest College. He earned the Th.M and Th.D. in Christian Ethics from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.
In 1945, Dr. Crook wrote to P.K. Weaver, his future father-in-law, “Personally I feel that God must have some great work for me to do, because He has given me the love of this wonderful girl.” Roger and Mary Ruth were married for 70 years, until her death in 2015. From the time they met, there can be nothing said about one without including the other.
Dr. Crook taught Sociology at Limestone College in Gaffney, S.C., for two years, moved to Raleigh in 1949 and joined the faculty of the Department of Religion at Meredith College, and the congregation of Pullen Memorial Baptist Church. He retired from Meredith in 1987. Throughout his life, Dr. Crook was a pastor and teacher, serving many congregations throughout Kentucky, North Carolina and South Carolina.
Dr. Crook established the Study Abroad Program at Meredith College in 1974, thereby broadening the perspective of many students and faculty, building relationships, and bringing the world closer together. In the following years, Roger and Mary Ruth traveled extensively throughout the Americas, the United Kingdom, and Eastern and Western Europe, often away months at a time, and all the while teaching, learning, and sharing. And while at home, he and his family opened their doors to anyone who appeared on their doorstep: the lonely and destitute, students from home and abroad, friends and colleagues, and they all became part of his family.
In 1984 Roger and Mary Ruth participated in establishing the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America, which seeks to gather, equip and mobilize peacemakers of faith across North America and beyond to engage in the work of peace rooted in justice. Particularly noteworthy during this time were their efforts to establish positive relationships with the citizens of Matanzas, Cuba, and Tbilisi, in the Republic of Georgia, where they formed strong and lasting friendships.
In so many ways, his life was exceptional. Dr. Crook is remembered for his works on Christian Ethics, Civil Rights, and the struggles of modern families. He and Mary Ruth have been both nationally and internationally recognized for a lifetime of peace and justice work and for being spokespersons for inclusion and equality. The quest for wholeness and the struggle for social justice continues to be nourished by the writings and records he left behind.
It has been said that the most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother. Among the legacies of Roger and Mary Ruth Crook are six sons and daughters-in-law, David and Kaye of Hartsville SC, Joseph and Laura of Cary, John and Connie of Cary, James and Kim of Raleigh, Bryan and Donna of Cary, Stephen (Kathy-deceased) of Raleigh, longtime Crook family friend Renee Keever, nine grandchildren, 13 great grandchildren, and countless others around the world whose lives they touched and loved and made better.
A worship service in honor of Roger Crook will be held at Pullen Memorial Baptist Church in Raleigh, N.C. on December 18, 2022, at 2:00 pm, with a reception following. In lieu of flowers, gifts to recognize and honor his life may be made to Pullen Memorial Baptist Church, specified for the Crook Peace Center-Republic of Georgia, or The Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America.
For additional information or for service details, please reach out to the family directly.
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City of Oaks Cremation and Funeral Home is a full-service funeral home in Raleigh, serving all of North Carolina and beyond. We provide an alternative to costly funeral homes and every day we help families in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and all over North Carolina make simple, affordable funeral arrangements.
Simply having to reach out to a funeral home can feel overwhelming. Our goal is to simplify the entire funeral home experience and make the process as easy as possible. We hope to eliminate any unnecessary surprises by publishing our total cost and the services we provide directly on our website. All of our obituaries are provided free of charge as a way to help families celebrate and commemorate the lives of their loved ones.
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Apples to Apples
Just like all other licensed funeral homes in North Carolina, City of Oaks Cremation, LLC is regulated by the NC Board of Funeral Service.
The same laws that apply to the big corporate funeral homes also apply to the modest independently owned firms like ours. All crematories in North Carolina, regardless of who owns them, are inspected annually by the state and must adhere to the same rules and laws.
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We're committed to providing families within our community unsurpassed service before, during and after the time of loss.
Our staff will provide clear communication to your family through each step as we move forward from the original phone call notifying us of a death to the time we deliver the urn back to your family. We will treat your family with the utmost respect, as we honor the wishes of your loved one.
We promise to make this process affordable and as endurable as possible.
State Wide
Our Funeral Home is located in Wake County NC; however, we provide our services to families throughout the entire State.
Unlike other funeral homes, we don't charge an additional mileage fee. Regardless of what county you live in, we can help your family with making simple, affordable funeral arrangements. From Asheville to Wilmington, we're proud to help families statewide.
Our Services
$1196.75
Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. We include everything you need for a simple or direct cremation. Simple, affordable and reliable. We have not changed the cost of our direct cremation service since we opened City of Oaks in 2012.
$2875.66
We offer the option of choosing how you receive your loved ones remains. Selecting our Direct Cremation with Solidified Remains option is a beautiful way to transform cremated remains into 40-60 “stones” that you can hold.
$1917.84
City of Oaks Funeral Home and Cremation provides an affordable cremation option with onsite visitation. Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. Simple, affordable and reliable.
$2497.50
An immediate burial has the same end result as a traditional burial; however, we have eliminated the extra (sometimes unnecessary) services prior to getting to the cemetery. Not everyone wants an open casket for viewing or a limousine for the family. Despite the term immediate, we can move as fast as you need or as slow as you like. This option simply allows you to save money by eliminating some of the fancy extras at the funeral home.
$6081.48
We offer the same traditional funeral services as the big corporately owned funeral homes in the area; however, we cost about half the amount. You might consider a traditional funeral service if your family is looking for an open casket visitation, a traditional church service or a funeral service in the funeral home's chapel. A traditional funeral service can be altered to fit the needs of your family.
$3033.75
This establishment is one of a select number of funeral homes who meet the criteria for providing green funeral service by the Green Burial Council; a tax-exempt, nonprofit organization working to encourage environmentally sustainability in the field of funeral service. Our Green options allow for a funeral to take place without the use of toxic and non-biodegradable materials/chemicals.
$2640.59
As an alternative to traditional cremation, City of Oaks Funeral Home also offers Aquamation. The Aquamation process, often referred to as alkaline hydrolysis, uses a solution of water and potassium hydroxide to facilitate natural decomposition.