William (Bill) Alfred Cook, founder of Star of Indiana Drum and Bugle Corps, died on Friday, April 15, 2011, at the age of 80.
Star won the Drum Corps International World Championship in 1991 and scored at least in the top 10 every year during its short stint in the DCI tours. In 1993, the group created brass theater, eventually resulting in the Tony Award-winning show “Blast.”
Cook privately funded Star from money he had accumulated as founder of the Cook Group, one of the world’s largest suppliers of medical equipment. Since 1963, the Cook Group has been known for pioneering minimally invasive medical technology including the first coronary stent approved for use in the United States.
Cook was one of the country’s wealthiest men and also made many donations in the area of historic preservation in the state of Indiana.
