Virginia Cook, co-founder of the Virginia Cook Real Estate Company, passed away Saturday afternoon at the age of 84, her former business partner confirmed.
Cook worked in the Dallas real estate industry for more than 50 years, founding her own firm with business partner Sheila Rice in 1999. The firm grew to six offices throughout the region in North Dallas, Uptown, Park Cities, Sherman, Fort Worth and Plano before closing in 2019. At the time of its closure, Virginia Cook Realtors was one of the largest independent real estate sales firms in North Texas.
Explained in 2018 Dallas Morning News Cook, described in the article as a “powerful 5-foot-2 woman,” was known for her determination, wit and energy in the face of great challenges. The News wrote in 2019 that Cook “was as well-known in local real estate circles as other industry icons such as Allie Beth Allman and the late Ebby Halliday.”
Cook suffered a stroke in 2015 that left her right side paralyzed and had difficulty speaking. She took a leave of absence from work and spent two years in rehabilitation at Presbyterian Village North, but decided to get involved again.
Since her recovery, Cook has commuted to one of the company’s six offices every day in her electric wheelchair and hired a driver to get her there and back, and the Highland Park home she’s lived in for more than 30 years has been remodeled to accommodate her.
Rice said at the time that Cook could always understand what others were saying but couldn’t always respond adequately, and employees and colleagues said losing her voice was a great injustice.
“If I’ve ever met a leader who has a great way with words and can motivate people with her sense of humor, it’s Virginia,” said David Griffin, a colleague of Cook’s. news 2018.
The world was very different in 1960 when Cook decided to get his real estate license.
Cook, then a 20-year-old student at Southern Methodist University, needed her husband’s permission to get a real estate license under Texas law. She worked for Judge Fought, Paula Stringer Real Estate and Henry S. Miller Co., building Miller’s residential real estate division into a national business before starting her own firm near the turn of the century.
In her later years, she enjoyed reading cookbooks and dining at Al Biernat’s Steakhouse and Pacific Cafe. She also practiced speech and physical therapy. Through sheer determination, she continued to learn to write and use an iPad with her left hand, even at nearly 80 years old.
“Virginia is unlike anyone I know,” Rice said in 2018, as his longtime partner battled physical challenges. “She’s very smart. Very clever. Very resourceful. And she’s absolutely going to do something like this her own way. And that stubbornness is what helped her turn her life around.”
“I know this much. Her spirit is very strong. You’ve seen her, you know. She’s still out there.”
Funeral arrangements for Cook have yet to be announced.
Breaking News Editor Tyler J. Davis contributed to this article.
