LA MIRADA, CALIFORNIA (ANS) -- A packed gymnasium was a fitting place to send off former basketball star and President Emeritus of Biola University Clyde Cook – who led the school through 25 years of growth and change.

Cook, who retired less than a year ago, was felled by a heart attack April 11th at his home in Fullerton, with his wife Anna Belle at his side. Clyde and Anna Belle celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary last year.

Clyde Cook

University President Barry Corey led a procession of faculty into Chase Gymnasium. All were dressed in cap and gown as they filed slowly into the darkened arena. “Our brother has finished well,” Corey said. He spoke of the memorial as a “commencement,” and an “end as well as a beginning” for Clyde Cook.

Cook, a fourth generation missionary, was born in Hong Kong. His family spent six months in a concentration camp after their capture by the Japanese during World War II. From 1963 to 1967, Clyde and his wife served as missionaries in the Philippines. His zeal for overseas missions never abated during his lifetime.

Douglas Pennoyer, Dean of the School of Intercultural Studies, recalled one memorable trip with Cook to Thailand. He recounted Cook’s determination to bridge the cultural divide by eating whatever was placed before them on their visit. “He was a Great Commision eater,” Pennoyer joked, as he recalled a hearty bowl of soup placed before the men, which contained “size-14 chicken feet.”

Cook enthusiastically lapped up his bowl of soup and placed the wood bowl on the table with aplomb. “Where he leads me I will follow; what he feeds me I will swallow,” was Cook’s witticism following the meal. Pennoyer said he was afraid to look and see if the chicken feet still remained in Cook’s bowl.

Many recalled Cook’s well-developed sense of humor and hearty laugh, and his insistence that he be called ‘Clyde.’

Brian Shook, Cook’s assistant for many years at the school, said his mentor addressed a group in Houston on the night before his death. Cook delivered a message on a familiar theme: “Four Points of Christian Leadership.” The four points included his injunctions to “think Christianly, communicate creatively, care compassionately, and endure constantly.” Several spoke of his oft-given advice to them – ‘just don’t quit.’

“He was the best president ever,” said current student, Karen Myers. She recalled one day she called the President’s Office, and was startled when Cook answered the phone himself. “My secretary is at lunch,” he told her. He then spent ten minutes talking with the young student about her life.

As a three-time graduate of Biola, as well as being a professor before he assumed the highest position at the school, many referred to him as “Mr. Biola.” But Cook refused to accept the title. Before his retirement he said, “There were presidents before me and presidents will come after me. But this is God’s work and it’s His mission, and He’s going to see it through.”

Cook was CIF Player of the Year in basketball at Laguna Beach High School. His parents founded Calvary Church of Laguna Beach, now known as Church by the Sea. On April 11th, the same day Cook went to heaven, another member of that church died unexpectedly. Mark Metherell, a former U.S. Navy Seal was training Iraqi troops when he was killed by a roadside bomb outside Sadr City. A strong Christian, Metherell also had a heart for missions and worked with indigenous people in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Perhaps God has a greater “mission” for both men on the other side of eternity.