The secret is out. Thomas and Maxine Cook were the benefactors who made La Grande’s new library possible.

For several years folks with the city, the library foundation and perhaps a few others knew that someone had promised to leave $2 million to the city for construction of a new library provided that the pledge wouldn’t be made public until after the donors had died. Only a few people truly knew just how secure that pledge was.

Last week the benefactors were made public when Norm Paullus and Di Lyn Larsen-Hill announced at a La Grande City Council meeting that the late Tom and Maxine Cook had left $2 million to the city for a new library, and that the $2 million had grown to $2.5 million. Paullus and Larsen-Hill were caregivers and close friends of the Cooks.

Maxine, a former city councilor who died in 1994 and is the namesake of Max Square, and Tom, who died Aug. 1, loved this community. They had no children. Together, they adopted and loved La Grande.

What a commitment the Cooks made to their community. What a connection they developed. And what a gift they left to future generations.

The Cooks’ modesty is admirable. Their interest was solely about what they could give, not receive. Their resolution, as long as one of them was alive, was absolute. Their friends and city officials, many of whom were one and the same, respected that.

But now that the secret is out, what would be more fitting than naming the new library after the people who guaranteed that the long-awaited dream could someday become reality?

Cook Memorial Library. Sort of has a ring to it like the name belongs there. Of course it would still be known mostly as the public library. Fact is, the Cooks wouldn’t have had it any other way. But the official name should represent the people who made it possible.

The Cooks loved this community. Their dedication and devotion to its future should never be forgotten.

Editorials in this column are the opinion of The Observer’s editorial board. The board is comprised of Ron Horton, publisher; Ted Kramer, editor; Jeff Petersen, news editor; and Bill Rautenstrauch, business editor. Letters from readers, signed columns on this page and cartoons represent the opinions of the writer/artist and do not necessarily reflect the position of the editorial board.