William Willis (’50 BA L&S, ’52 LLB LAW), married to Doris (’50 BS L&S)

Vet to Vet: A Chance to Study Law

Robert E. Cook (’50 LLB, ’66 JD) had a helping hand when he returned to college from the armed forces, and he would like today’s service men and women to have similar opportunities.

Robert, retired partner in the firm Cook & Franke, has made a gift of $100,000 to establish the Robert E. Cook Law School Scholarship Fund, which will assist U.S. military veterans who attend the University of Wisconsin Law School.

“In World War II, I was in the service for approximately three years as an Air Force pilot,” he said from his home in Osprey, Florida. “When I got out and came back to the States, I had the G.I. Bill. That allowed me to go through the University as an undergraduate and get into the Law School, where I earned my degree.

“I was thinking, there must be several people serving in Iraq and elsewhere overseas who, when they come back, would probably make fine lawyers,” he said. “This scholarship is a way for them to accomplish what I did thanks to the G.I. Bill.”

While at the University, Robert concentrated on his studies. “Because I lost those years in the service, I pretty much stayed on campus and worked hard so I could get through in a shorter period,” he said. “I lived in the SAE house and was a house fellow.”

One summer, a friend of the family, Oliver Grootemaat, of the Milwaukee law firm Drought & Grootemaat, sent him briefs to work on and had him do some clerking.

“After I graduated, Ralph Drought and Oliver Grootemaat hired me,” said Robert, a Milwaukee native who went on to have his own successful practice in the area.

As for his support, Robert said he’s repaying an investment once made in him. “I received from the institution the tools to do something that I really like to do,” he said. “I was able to get paid for it, have a good life and build some savings so I can allow someone else to have the opportunity I did.”

He added: “I tend to agree with a guy named Luke, who has been quoted as saying, ‘Much is expected from those to whom much has been given.’”