Antionette Lee Cook

The Rev. Dr. Toni Cook passed away on October 2. Raised in western Pennsylvania, Toni lived and attended school in New York and Boston before moving to Colorado with her husband James in the early 1970s. Her first parish was in Hugo, Colorado. In 1989 Toni moved to Denver with her family and became the minister at St. Paul United Methodist Church in Capitol Hill. She was one of the first ministers in the nation to openly wed gay and lesbian couples. She also established a homeless youth shelter, developed a program to deliver housewares to individuals living with HIV/AIDS, welcomed a shelter for homeless working men into the church building, and founded the Buddhist Christian InterSpiritual Community at St. Paul. She was a tireless & compassionate advocate for human rights and interfaith dialogue. After retiring in July of 2011 Toni moved to Aspen with her dog Sierra to focus on writing. Shortly after retiring Toni became seriously ill and fought bravely for over a year. Toni was an incredibly loving, compassionate, fiery and wise being. Toni is preceded in death by her husband James Scalise and her sister Mary Cook. She is survived by her daughter Sarah Cook-Scalise and two siblings. Private memorial service to be held. Please click on ""Sign Guestbook"" to share memories of Antionette and messages of condlence with her family.