Roy Lee Cooke

Roy Lee Cooke (born December 25, 1941) is an American who was a founding member of the Big Creek Missile Agency and, therefore, one of the original Rocket Boys. His character in the Universal Pictures film “October Sky” was played by William Lee Scott.

He is the son of Wiley Clay Cooke and Carrie Austin Cooke of Coalwood, in McDowell County, West Virginia.

When Roy Lee was 13, his father, having worked his entire adult life in the mine at Coalwood, died at the age of 45. His mother then began working in the school cafeteria to support the two of them.

Cooke later attended Big Creek High School. It was there that Roy Lee and his friends ( Jimmy "O'Dell" Carroll, Homer "Sonny" Hickam, Jr., Billy Rose, Sherman Siers and Quentin Wilson ) formed the Big Creek Missile Agency. Roy Lee was a member of the football team, too, playing running back. In addition, he was active in a variety of clubs in high school. The thespian club named him best thespian during his senior year at BCHS.

After graduating high school, Cooke began his college career at Concord College in Athens, West Virginia. He later transferred to the University of Maryland where he earned a degree. He is also a graduate of the American Institute of Banking in Washington, D.C.

Now retired from banking after 25 years in that profession, Cooke has been President of Carolina Domestic Coal since 1986. He is Managing Member of Cooke & Moses LLC, a company devoted to bringing new businesses and venture capital into West Virginia.

He maintains a wide range of civic and business interests in the Appalachian area, including support of the West Virginia Access Center for Higher Education. Additionally, he has New Horizons Computer Learning Centers in West Virginia and other parts of the country, and started the Prodigy Foundation to support education and jobs in West Virginia.

Cooke has appeared at several colleges and other organizations throughout the region. He has presented keynote speeches at the West Virginia Small Business Administration and the Appalachian College Association.

Governor Underwood named him a Distinguished West Virginian in 1999, and in 2002, the Secretary of State appointed him a Member of the 35th Star.

Roy Lee Cooke resides in Irmo, South Carolina. However, he divides his time between West Virginia and South Carolina.

References

Primary Source:

• Homer Hickam website

Other Sources:

• We are not afraid by Homer Hickam (ISBN 0-7573-0012-X)
• Video Interview
• NASA Article
• Article from Fairmont State University