When the Rev. Dr. Cathy “Cat” Cook of Concord, N.C., explains why she’s established two scholarships at Pfeiffer University, her alma mater, she points out that Pfeiffer provided her and two other members of her family with a great start in life.

Three generations of the Cook family have studied at Pfeiffer. Cook graduated in 1977. Her late father, A. Wayne Cook, graduated in 1958, and her daughter Jessica Cook, earned her bachelor’s degree in Music from Pfeiffer and an MBA in 2007.

“All were so grateful for what Pfeiffer offered them,” she said. “I wanted to afford other students with a similar opportunity for the University to make a positive impact on their lives. The scholarships will help ensure that.”

The scholarships each memorialize one of Cook’s parents. One, for Strategic Communication and Social Media students, is named for her mother, Frances Ann Garver Cook, who died in 2023 following a courageous battle with cancer.

In her obituary, Cook described her mother as “a beloved mother and grandmother, a pioneer for professional women, and a person of deep faith.” Cook’s mother excelled at the now-defunct Cannon Mills Company, in Kannapolis, N.C., where in 1984, she became the company’s first female vice president. Among other things, she served as Director of Public Relations at Cannon Mills, edited The Cannon News,and worked as the Corporate Secretary for Cannon Mills and its subsidiaries.

The other scholarship, for Environment and Sustainability Studies majors who want to make the world a better place by caring for the environment and the land, is named for Cook’s father, A. Wayne Cook (d. 2020). He excelled in business but lived for stewarding his New Moon Farm and raising Black Angus cattle on farmland that was tended by his ancestors for 200 years.

In the obituary Cook penned, she says her father “possessed the soul of a poet, the spirit of a cowboy, and the heart of a hero. He loved his children immeasurably, teaching them the ‘Good Morning Song,’ and to listen to the words of his favorite country songs – the sadder, the better.”

The words she used to memorialize each of her parents reveals Cook’s giftedness as a storyteller. And each of the major stops in her life can somehow be tied to her writing, be it for newspaper articles, devotionals or sermons. She has served as Senior Pastor of several United Methodist Churches. Her first job was as a writer of obituaries. Since 2010, Cook has authored three books: Once Upon A Speech (Kendall-Hunt Publishers), along with two Amethyst Fire Publishing titles: The Beagle and his Boy and The 11-Fingered Jesus.

She is a recipient of the Francis Asbury Preaching Award and the Denman Evangelism Award from the United Methodist Church. As a communications college teacher and scholar, she has received Excellence in Teaching state recognition for her public speaking classes. She’s presented at regional, national, and international conferences, including the National Communication Association, the Southeastern Women’s Studies Association, and the International Clergywoman’s Consultation.

Cook’s gifts as a writer were refined at Pfeiffer, where she majored in English and minored in French. She was particularly interested in poetry, which heightened her interest in choosing just the right word or title.

“I believe an English or communication-based degree is one of the best foundations that a student can have,” she said. “In every single profession, or in every single advanced degree that one might pursue, a communication foundation is essential.”

Cook says that a form of storytelling even enters into the scholarships she has established at Pfeiffer.

“I always love meeting the students who receive the scholarships. And when I do, I bring a picture of my parent, and I tell them a little bit about their story. And in that way, it connects my parent’s story to the student’s. It’s a legacy of love.”

The A. Wayne Cook Endowed Scholarship’s first recipient, in 2025-26, was Alim Coleman, a rising junior from Harrisburg, NC, who is a member of Pfeiffer’s cross country, track & field, and debate teams. He enjoyed meeting Rev. Cook and learning about the family’s Pfeiffer legacy at the University’s scholarship dinner in March. “It was a great experience to meet an alumnus who is investing in my future, allowing me to follow what I am personally passionate about,” said Coleman. “The magnitude of this family’s generosity has made a real difference for me.”