Glade Cookus Passes Away
 Original future Angel Glade Cookus passed away on December 15 in Visalia.
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Jack Hiatt just called to inform me that original future Angel Glade Cookus passed away in Visalia on December 15. Cookus was 66.
Glade was one of the “first four” Angels prospects sent to Statesville in April 1961. The other three were Hiatt, Dick Simpson and George Conrad. All were signed out of the Los Angeles area.
Cookus was in the lineup for the Owls’ first game of the 1961 season, playing shortstop. He hit only .264 that year and left baseball the next spring.
I spoke with Glade last April about our project to reunite the surviving Statesville Owls. He said he was too ill but did ask that I put him in touch with Jack Hiatt. Jack called him and spent about 90 minutes with him. Jack then called me and said that Glade had cancer and was undergoing chemotherapy. It didn’t look good, but we were able to fulfill Glade’s one humble wish.
Of the “first four,” we believe that only Jack and Dick Simpson survive. George Conrad appears to have passed away in Washington state about ten years ago.
Glade’s passing reminds us of the urgency to find his teammates while there’s still time to reunite. I found Walter Darton last week, and last night found Alan Flitcraft in Arizona. More on Alan later. But the news about Glade saddens the joy in finding two more of the original future Angels.
FutureAngels.com 
That my gramps
Stephen, thanks you for taking the time to write this article about my father. It’s nice to know he was loved and respected in the babseball circle. I appreciate your concern and time. I hope the other “future” Angles can reunite with dad when the time comes.