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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesRoger Cook, the longtime landscape contractor whose practical advice made him a familiar presence on This Old House and Ask This Old House, died on August 21, 2024, at age 70. The official This Old House remembrance and contemporaneous reporting said he had been battling a long or extended illness. They did not identify a specific diagnosis or more precise medical cause of death.
A nearly four-decade television career
Cook’s connection with This Old House began in 1982, during the program’s second season. At the time, he was working as a landscape foreman for Frost and Higgins. His early contributions included the Bigelow Project and the Woburn House.
In 1988, Cook became the program’s full-time landscape contractor during the Lexington Bed & Breakfast renovation. He remained associated with This Old House for nearly four decades and also appeared on its companion series, Ask This Old House.
On screen, Cook was known for a calm, soft-spoken manner paired with direct, practical instruction. He explained landscaping and outdoor construction in terms that homeowners could use: how to approach a project, which materials and methods made sense, and what could go wrong when a job was poorly planned. His work helped make landscape construction a central part of the home-improvement conversation for millions of viewers.
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Cook consistently regarded himself as a landscaper first and a television personality second. His son Jason recalled that the television opportunity gave his father a way to share the knowledge he had developed in the trade with a much larger audience.
Health issues led him away from the show
Cook publicly discussed health issues in 2018. The official This Old House biography records that he stepped away from his full-time television role in January 2020, when his health made appearing on television more difficult.
Those dates describe separate points in his final years on the program: the public discussion of health problems in 2018, his departure from the full-time role by January 2020, and his death on August 21, 2024. Available authoritative reports describe only a long or extended illness. They do not establish a specific disease, and no diagnosis should be inferred.
His professional life began in conservation and landscape work
Cook earned a Bachelor of Science degree in wildlife management and conservation law from the University of Maine in 1977. While in college, he worked with local landscape and tree firms and considered forestry as a possible career.
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He was a certified Massachusetts landscape contractor and was involved with the Massachusetts Arborist Association, New England Grows, and the Association of Landscape Contractors of Massachusetts.
In 1982, Cook and his wife, Kathleen, founded K & R Landscape. According to the official This Old House remembrance, the company began with one Jeep and a trailer carrying lawn-care equipment before growing into a full-service landscape construction firm. The remembrance says the business continues to operate; current services and ownership details should be confirmed directly before relying on them.
Family, Massachusetts roots, and love of the outdoors
Cook grew up in Burlington, Massachusetts. Accounts of his early life also connect him with nearby Woburn. His family remembered a deep attachment to the outdoors, especially fishing. His son Jason described summer weekends devoted to fishing whenever severe weather did not prevent them—a family recollection that reflected Cook’s interests beyond his professional work.
Cook’s wife, Kathleen, died from cancer in 2010. He is survived by his son, Jason; his daughter, Molly; his brother, Greg; his daughter-in-law, Anna; and three grandsons, Peter, Noah, and James, according to the official biography.
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How viewers can remember Roger Cook’s work
For viewers who want to revisit his television appearances, the Ask This Old House: The Complete First Season DVD is an archival option documented as featuring Cook among the cast. The release includes episodes with the program’s original experts, including Cook’s landscaping segments. Availability and current listings may vary.
Cook’s obituary asked mourners to plant a tree in their local community instead of sending flowers, a request that reflected his lifelong interest in conservation and the environment. Anyone acting on that request should choose a suitable native or locally appropriate tree, check planting restrictions and utility locations, and follow local guidance rather than treating tree planting as a one-size-fits-all gesture.
The Cook Family Giving Fund was established by Cook’s family in his memory. Its stated areas of focus include wildlife and land conservation, medical research, childhood education and athletics, and support for military veterans. It is the family’s official charitable destination for readers seeking a memorial connection.
A legacy built on useful instruction
Roger Cook’s importance to This Old House was not simply that he appeared on television for many years. He represented the idea that outdoor work deserved the same care, planning, and technical attention as interior renovation. He showed viewers how landscape projects affected the way people lived in and moved through their homes—and he did so without turning practical work into spectacle.
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His career also connected professional landscaping, conservation, and public education. From his early work with trees and landscapes to his decades explaining projects for homeowners, Cook brought the authority of a working contractor to a national audience.
He died at 70 after a long illness. Beyond that description, the available reporting does not establish a more specific medical cause of death. The facts that remain clear are his decades of service to This Old House, his Massachusetts landscape career, his commitment to the outdoors, and the lasting value of the instruction he shared with viewers.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Frequently Asked Questions
When did Roger Cook die?
Roger Cook died on August 21, 2024, at age 70.
What was Roger Cook’s cause of death?
The official This Old House remembrance and contemporaneous reports said that Cook died after a long or extended illness. They did not identify a specific diagnosis or more precise medical cause of death.
When did Roger Cook join This Old House?
Cook first worked on This Old House in 1982, during the show’s second season. He became its full-time landscape contractor in 1988.
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Why did Roger Cook leave This Old House?
Health issues made television work more difficult. The official biography says he stepped away from his full-time role in January 2020 after publicly discussing health issues in 2018.
What did Roger Cook ask people to do in his memory?
His obituary requested that mourners plant a tree in their local community instead of sending flowers. The Cook Family Giving Fund, established by his family, is another official memorial and charitable destination.
The Bottom Line
Roger Cook, the Massachusetts landscape contractor who taught generations of This Old House viewers, died on August 21, 2024, at 70 after a long illness. His legacy rests on nearly four decades of practical television instruction, professional landscape work, conservation interests, and the family fund established in his memory.
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