‘I will only be 90 once’: Munday VFD 44-year volunteer Cooks honored on milestone birthday
A BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION for 90-year-old Charlie Cooks began with the first vehicle of Munday’s Fourth of July parade. Cooks, a Munday VFD member since 1982, currently serves as chaplain for the department. | COURTESY PHOTO
90 YEARS ON EARTH Munday’s VFD secretary presented Cooks with a plaque recognizing 44 years of service and 90 years of life, inscribed with John 3:16, Cooks’s favorite scripture. | COURTESY PHOTO
JULY5BIRTHDAY CharlieCooksshowedoffhisplaquesurrounded by family who joined in the celebration of his 90th birthday. Cooks turned 90 on July 5, 2026. | TROY PARTON
HARDWARE MOUNTED Cooks had this plaque up as soon as he got it home, informing those gathered for his birthday celebration that “his wall might fall down” from everything he has hanging on it. | COURTESY PHOTO
Charlie Cooks is a character. He is a man of faith who loves everyone and is quick to say “God loves you, and I love you.”
And if you are around Cooks long enough you will know that his pet peeve is drivers not stopping at stop signs. He will remind you that the younger people arewatchingyou—andthey will do what you do rather than what you say.
Cooks joined the Munday Volunteer Fire Department in 19…
