Colbert “Cokie” Held

Dr. Colbert C. ‘Cokie’ Held
Sept. 3, 1917 – Dec. 18, 2016

Dr. Colbert C. ‘Cokie’ Held died peacefully at age 99 on Dec. 18, 2016, in Waco, Texas, after trying with his customary determination and good cheer to recover from a major stroke. A memorial service will be held 11:00 am Friday, Dec. 30, at Lake Shore Baptist Church.

Cokie Held was born in Stamford, Texas, on Sept. 3, 1917, the son of Dr. John A. Held, a minister, and Annie Hardie Held. He graduated from Waco High School in 1934 and received his BA from Baylor University in 1938 and MA from Northwestern University in 1940, where he did graduate work in English and theater. Cokie met Mildred “Milly” McDonald while a professor at Mississippi College and they married in 1940. Milly had a crucial role in Dr. Held’s academic and diplomatic careers, working closely with him on his doctoral dissertation, articles, photographic archive, and especially his books. In 1989 he published the first edition of Middle East Patterns: Places, Peoples, and Politics, which has gained wide use as a textbook and reference work.”

Dr. Held held faculty positions at Mississippi College, where he met his wife Milly, and Tarkio College in Missouri. After earning a PhD in Geography in 1949 from Clark University in Massachusetts, he became Chairman of the Geography Departments at West Texas State University and the University of Nebraska.

In 1942, Cokie enlisted in the US Army Air Corps and, after attending the Air Photographic School, was commissioned later that year and assigned to Wright Field. He later joined the Headquarters Staff of the 15th Air Force in Italy and the U.S. Air Forces in Europe (USAFE). He retired from the U.S. Air Force Reserve in 1954 as a Lieutenant Colonel.In 1957, Dr. Held joined the Foreign Service of the U.S. Department of State in the position of Geographic Attache, and, accompanied by his wife and two daughters, served at the American Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon; the American Consulate-General in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia; the Department of State in Washington; and the American Embassy in Tehran, Iran. He had numerous assignments throughout the Middle East that later served as the basis for Middle East Patterns and his research, writing and teaching. He retired from the Foreign Service in 1976.Following his retirement, Cokie joined the faculty of Baylor University in 1976 as Diplomat-in-Residence and Professor in Political Geography, Middle East History, and Cultural Geography.

Cokie was an active photographer starting in high school and at Baylor. While living in the Middle East, he began a unique collection of slides that visually documented the changes taking place over time in 17 Middle East countries in the second half of the 20th century. Selected photos from his collection of more than 15,000 slides of the Middle East were featured in a special exhibit at Baylor University in 2013. The Held photographic archive is now available for research through the well-known independent institute, Middle East Institute (MEI), in Washington, D.C.

Cokie celebrated 76 years of marriage in November with his wife Milly and had two daughters, three grandsons, and one great grandson. His daughter Melinda Held Brunger, a corporate and securities partner at Andrews Kurth Kenyon LLP, lives in Houston with her husband William Brunger, an airline consultant. Their son Christopher Brunger lives in San Francisco with his wife Tia and Cokie and Milly’s great-grandson Kai. His daughter Joanne Held Cummings served extensively as a U.S. diplomat in the Middle East and is now Deputy Chief of Mission in Micronesia. Joanne’s husband John T. Cummings, a PhD economist, is co-author of Middle East Patterns with Cokie and is currently researching the 7th edition. Their sons J. T. McDonald (Don) Cummings and Liam A. M. Cummings live in Austin, Texas.

The family thanks the talented physicians and professionals who kept Cokie active for over 99 years, and the relatives, colleagues, students and friends he enjoyed over his long life.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Held Archive at the Middle East Institute, 1761 N Street NW, Washington, DC 20036, a nonpartisan institute dedicated to analysis and understanding in the Middle East, or to the Waco Civic Theatre, 1517 Lake Air Drive, Waco, Texas 76710, where Cokie performed his most recent role while in his 80s as Mr Paravicini in Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap.