Casey Cooke remembered for her smile, goofy personality

Casey Cooke, 22, made a lasting impact on everyone around her, friends and family say. The OU student died early Sunday morning on campus.

Cooke, a zoology senior, was working toward a second degree in Spanish, and was motivated to attend medical school, her uncle Don Cooke said.

“Casey’s grandfather was a doctor, her father was a doctor and her uncle was a doctor and she wanted to be the first female in her family to be a doctor,” Don Cooke said.

Cooke’s ambitions also inspired her friends on their own academic journeys.

“It was actually Casey's passion for her career path that helped me decide to go to medical school as well,” said Ally Rahill, a friend and sorority sister of Cooke. “We were both studying for the MCAT at the same time. I feel like if or when I am admitted it will be bittersweet in a way, but I know that Casey will be with me every step of the way.”

Cooke was a shy person at first, but once people got to know her, she opened up into a goofy and kind person, said Erica Stauter, one of Cooke's sorority sisters.

“She was the friendliest person and she was very shy when I first met her but we quickly became really close friends,” Stauter said.

“Every time I ever saw her she gave me the biggest hug like we hadn't seen each other for years," Stauter said. "She would say things that were so hilarious without even trying to be funny."

Friends also describe Cooke as a caring individual.

“She was the person you could go to with anything at all knowing she would listen to whatever you had to say no matter what it was," Stauter said.

Rahill echoed this sentiment and said Cooke was central to the happiness of many of her friends.

“I know that whatever I needed in Casey, it would always be there," Rahill said. "If I needed to talk or if I just needed to take my mind off of something, all I had to do was tell her."

Cooke’s friends and uncle all agreed that Casey will be most remembered by her smile.

“Her smile and her joy would be what I will remember her by,” Don Cooke said. “She brought light into a room when she walked in with that smile."

Although Cooke was a great friend, it was clear that her family was the biggest priority in her life, Don Cooke said.

“Casey had many hobbies, from waterskiing and watching sports, however her greatest hobby was her family,” he said.

Cooke frequently visited her family in Edmond, said Katy Cox, one of Cooke's sorority sisters.

"She would always be going home to visit them on the weekends,” Cox said.

Though Cooke lived a brief life, she left a significant mark on her friends and family.

“She made a decision that we all wished she wouldn’t have, but just like her father said, I am happy that I got the chance to spend 22 years with her,” Don Cooke said.

Jenna Bielman

Jenna is a former staff member of The Oklahoma Daily who worked as Campus Reporter and Campus Reporter.