‘This Old House’ Star Roger Cook’s Illness Is Still Unknown After His 2024 Passing

Cable TV is filled with throngs of home renovation shows that come and go. Some have serious staying power and have spun off into production empires, whereas others fizzled out after a season. And if watching abodes getting some tender loving care is your thing, then you, your parents, and maybe even your grandparents are familiar with the PBS mainstay, This Old House.

Recently, fans of the show were saddened to hear about landscaping and gardening expert Roger Cook's passing following an illness.

Local news outlet WCVB 5 reported on Aug. 23, 2024, that the home improvement expert "died after a long illness." Cook's involvement with the series dates back to 1982, and he joined the team of spin-off Ask This Old House in 2002 when it first aired.

In 2020, Cook stepped away from the show, attributing his departure to "health issues." Following his death, Norm Abram, master carpenter on the popular program, released a statement extolling his friend. "Roger was very kind, built up a good company, and knew so much about everything in the yard from lawns to stone walls," he said.

Abram continued in the statement shared by the This Old House production team: "It was clear how knowledgeable he was and that he was a true arborist."

Furthermore, Tom Silva, This Old House general contractor, had kind words to say about Cook: "Roger was a great guy, always the first to get down and dirty in the mud. Whatever had to get done, he got it done."

Cook's wife, Kathleen, died from cancer in 2010, and the two are survived by their son, daughter, brother, daughter-in-law, and three grandsons.

As for his specific health issues, there isn't much public data available as to what Cook was afflicted with.

Distractify reported in 2024 that Cook had addressed these concerns himself, but didn't make fans privy to the nature of his illness. In an open letter to the show's audience, Cook explained why he wasn't going to be featured full-time.

"Some viewers may have noticed that I haven't been myself over the last season. In fact, I have been dealing with several health issues that have made performing on television more difficult," he told This Old House fans.

He added that he was going to use his time away from the series to "focus more time on [his] health and [his] family."

The same year that Roger began working with This Old House, he launched his own landscaping company, K&R Landscape, with his wife Kathleen. The company specialized in "plants and hardscaping," according to The Independent.

The outlet also provided a statement from series executive producer Chris Wolfe, who extolled Cook's acumen as a landscaper and contractor. "I remember every lesson from Roger. More importantly, there are millions of people whose lives have been enriched by everything Roger taught them," Wolfe stated.

Following his death, Cook's son, Jason, said that his family set up a fund in his father's honor, highlighting his father's magnanimous heart as its inspiration. "Dad spent his entire life helping people — friends, family, and customers. One of the biggest regrets with his illness was that he could no longer help people in the same way. With that in mind, Dad asked us to set up a family foundation so that we can continue his legacy as a helper going forward."

The Cook Family Giving Fund uses its proceeds for land and wildlife conservation, and gives donations to medical research, educating children, and assisting military veterans. As of this writing, donations for the fund are currently paused.