Services set for Lita Cook, 'queen of the pa'u riders'
Advertiser Staff
Services will be held Saturday for Lita Lowea Carrillo Cook of Waimanalo, known to many in Hawai'i and around the world as "the queen of the pa'u riders."
Advertiser library photo
She was trained as a hula dancer by Irene MacDonald, and while still a high school student, she danced for the Hawai'i Visitors Bureau at Honolulu International Airport, where she was also a greeter for Pan American World Airways and United Airlines.
Lita Cook and her husband, John Cook, founded Hawaii Pa'u Riders.
In 1980, Cook formed her own hula halau, teaching more than 100 students at her Waimanalo home.
A year later, she and her husband, John Cook, founded Hawaii Pa'u Riders, an equestrian group that traveled throughout Europe and the Mainland, appearing in many parades, including the Pasadena Rose Bowl Parade.
In Hawai'i, with her husband, she rode in 44 parades, chaired the equestrian events for the 1987 Aloha Festivals Parade, and headed the horse units for the Kane'ohe Christmas Parade.
Cook was also a member of 'Ahahui Ka'ahumanu and the Waimanalo Neighborhood Board, and a founder of Hawaii Equestrian Trails Association.
Cook is survived by her husband, John; daughters, Ilimi and Leiala; brother, Alex Campbell; sister Yvonne Gutierrez; four grandchildren; and two great grandchildren.
Funeral services will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at St. George's Church in Waimanalo, after a noon Mass. A reception at the Cooks' ranch in Waimanalo will follow, with private scattering of ashes at a later date. Casual attire is requested.
Correction: The service for Lita Cook will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. A previous version of this story gave a wrong time.
