Roger Cook, longtime "This Old House" landscaper, dies at 70

BURLINGTON - Roger Cook, the longtime landscape contractor on the PBS home improvement series "This Old House," has died. He was 70 years old.

Cook died Wednesday "after a long battle with illness," the show said.

The landscaping and gardening expert was involved with "This Old House" for more than 40 years, starting in 1982 when the show was produced by WGBH-TV in Boston. He first joined the program full-time in 1988 as a landscape contractor for a renovation of a bed and breakfast in Lexington. 

"Soft-spoken but no-nonsense approach"

"Roger was our much-loved colleague, treasured by the entire 'This Old House community' for his soft-spoken but no-nonsense approach to every aspect of landscape contracting," an article on the "This Old House" website stated. "He was always there with the answers we needed."

Cook shared with viewers in 2018 that he was stepping away from a full-time role on the show because of "several health issues that have made performing on television more difficult."

Showrunners say Cook's legacy will live on in the landscapes he created and the knowledge he shared. 

"I remember every lesson from Roger," said Chris Wolfe, the executive producer of "This Old House." "More importantly, there are millions of people whose lives have been enriched by everything Roger taught them."

Roger Cook's Massachusetts roots

An obituary for Cook said he grew up in Woburn and Burlington, Massachusetts and graduated from the University of Maine with a degree in wildlife management and conservation management. He founded K&R Landscape in Woburn with his wife Kathy in 1982. 

Visiting hours for Cook will be held on Aug. 27 from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m. at the Edward V. Sullivan Funeral Home in Burlington. Instead of flowers, Cook's obituary requested mourners to "please plant a tree in your local community to honor Roger's lifelong environmental efforts."