He majored in biology at Northwestern University where he joined Beta Theta Pi fraternity and graduated in 1953.

[6] They collaborated with many of the founders of Interventional Radiology, including Dr. Charles Dotter, to grow Cook, Inc. into the world's largest family-owned medical device manufacturer.

The Cook Group led a revitalization of downtown Bloomington, Indiana, culminating in the grand opening of Fountain Square Mall in 1988.

Also in 2007 Bill, his wife Gayle and son Carl provided the funds to restore Beck's Mill at Salem, Indiana.

Star of Indiana made DCI finals in every year of competition, and won the Drum Corps International Division I World Championship in 1991 and placed no lower than third from 1990 onwards.

[11] After the 1993 season, Cook and Star of Indiana left DCI and began touring as Brass Theater before debuting the show Blast!

[14] In 1996, the Cooks designated a $1 million gift to honor IU Foundation President Bill Armstrong and his wife, Martha Lea; this gift was used to fund the Martha Lea and Bill Armstrong Teacher Educators, which allows a group of Indiana public school teachers to advance their professional development by working with IU faculty and education students.