Karen Cook

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Karen is a public speaker regarding Suicide Awareness and Prevention and also teaches QPR, a CEU class through NBCC for Suicide Prevention.

She shares her testimony of where God brought her from and how He saved her from bad choices in life and sharing her testimony through music and worship.

Karen was raised the daughter of a pastor and brought up with her family, all playing music and singing.

She had taken piano lessons at an early age, but the teacher sent a note home to her parents saying that they were wasting her time and their money because she wanted to learn on her own. Karen always said she simply wanted "to sit down and play a song, not peck it out."  She was so young she never even remembered those lessons, so it is a credit to God that she doesn't read music but simply plays by ear.

At the age of 9, she began playing piano for her dad's church and a small gospel group that had formed at their church.

She has always had a passion for music; and traveled with various gospel groups throughout her life, and it was her piano playing and singing that ignited her 25-plus-year career in the funeral industry. 

Ultimately it was her brother, Johnny who was always her biggest fan, saying she was more talented than he, although he played piano, guitar, bass and drums himself. He constantly pushed her to do more with her talent and it was because of him they were going to record their first CD project together in 2016, however, sadly he died in 2015 just nine months prior to their scheduled date in the studio.

She founded a non-profit, Cook Ministries, in memory of her brother, Johnny Cook, after his suicide death in 2015.

Through the journey of learning to live again after losing her brother, is where she found God had given her the tools to successfully manage various coordinated events, prioritize tasks, and set goals, and it all consisted of connecting friends with friends.