Donald Cook
Madrid, IA – Donald Wesley Cook died on September 22, 2025, in Madrid,
Iowa. Don was a survivor of the tragic July 6, 1944, Ringling Brothers
Barnum and Baily circus fire in Hartford, Connecticut also known as
“The Day the Clowns Cried.” Don’s younger brother, Edward, was one of
the 169 people who perished in that blaze. His mother was so severely
burned that she spent six months in the hospital. His younger sister,
Eleanor, not identified at the time, was remembered for many years as
“Little Miss 1565” which was the number on her toe tag. In 1991 an
arson investigator reexamined the evidence and determined her
identity. Her body was then moved from Hartford to the cemetery in
Southampton, Massachusetts where she was buried next to her brother.
A graveside service will be held in Southampton later in October.
For a complete obituary please visit
https://www.mitchellcofuneralhome.com/obituary/Donald-Cook