It was Wednesday, November 7, 1979.
Cristy Cay Cook was driving her 1977 Camaro on the way back to Pullman after an early morning Cougar Crew practice on the Snake River. She was leading a caravan of cars, giving four teammates a ride back to campus, and trying to make it in time for her 8 a.m. class.
who died in 1977. (WSU Photo Services)
Near Almota, in dense fog, she missed a turn at a T-section, crashing into an embankment. The female crew members riding in her car were taken to Whitman Community Hospital in Colfax. One was transferred to Deaconess Hospital in Spokane. All four recovered. Cristy died.
At the 2024 Cougar Crew Days, 45 years after the car accident that claimed her life, Cristy was remembered during a wreath-laying ceremony on the Snake River. Former and current Cougar Crew members rowed to the middle of the river and placed single white carnations on the surface along with a flower wreath. Onlookers tossed white carnations into the river from shore.
“It was very quiet. It was very respectful,” says Ken Struckmeyer, who led the March 16 on-shore memorial. He coached Cougar Crew for 20 years and remains the longest-serving coach in the team’s history.
Cristy’s death “really rocked the team. It was a pretty dark time for Cougar Crew,” says Hawaii State Senator Tim Richards (’84 DVM), founding chair of the Cougar Crew Alumni Association. He spoke during the wreath-laying ceremony from one of the participating shells.
“I think back on that time, and the friendship that we shared. And even though it was for a brief moment, it was all about touching the next generation,” Richards says.
In February 1980, just three months after the accident, the Cook family donated an eight-person cedar Pocock Racing Shell in Cristy’s honor. The crew also set up the Cristy Cay Cook Memorial Fund for operational expenses.
“Almost all of the dollars that come into the program go through that fund, so every time we deal with those types of expenses, we remember Cristy Cay Cook,” Richards says. “Even today, 45 years later, she is still touching the lives of Cougar Crew.”
Photos Dean Hare
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Remembering Cristy Cay Cook: Friends and family reflect on the life of a Cougar Crew athlete