Memories of President Emeritus Clyde Cook
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We first met Dr. Clyde Cook on campus at Biola College in 1975. As we spoke I told him that he reminded me of the basketball team that went to Singapore (Venture for Victory) in the 1950's. That was how we connected. That team shared the gospel and it was the first time that my father and I heard the gospel being clearly presented.
In 1983, while teaching at the Singapore Bible College, I was given a two-year sabbatical for the Th. M. program at Talbot. I wrote to President Cook for help. I will never forget his reply: "Anthony, even if my mother applies for financial help to study at Biola, she will need to go through the usual process and be approved by the Financial Aid Department..." That was an example of his integrity as an educational leader in Biola.
Well, thanks be to God and to Biola for giving such an illustrious couple (Clyde and Anna Belle) to the Christian world.
From: Anthony Ang (Talbot, '77; '85 and '89), Diana Ang (Talbot, '77).
Director and Dean
Bethany Theological Seminary,
Cebu, Philippines.(2006-2008) -
I am deeply saddened to learn of Dr. Cook's passing. He was always encouraging and uplifting. I enjoyed him as a professor of missions at Biola and as our advisor for the Student Missionary Council. Dr. Cook took an interest in all of us--he had a great sense of humor! As I attended Biola functions over the years, I had a few opportunites to speak to Dr. Cook again. He was always kind and gracious. Dr. Cook will always be a very important part of my memory of Biola.
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As a senior, I was blessed to serve in AS during Dr. Cook's final year as Biola's President. At the beginning of the year, we asked Dr. Cook to act in a video we were filming to show at chapel. The video was a parody of the TV Show "The Office," and I wasn't sure if Dr. Cook had seen it before. The character I was parodying is very self-absorbed and dense, so I kept worrying that Dr. Cook would think that I was actually that kind of person. Thankfully, those worries were unnecessary, and we had a great time filming with Dr. Cook. He was much funnier by improvising all of his linesâwe didn't need a script for him!
Soon after we showed it at chapel, Dr. Cook asked AS for a few copies of the DVD with the finished video so he could send them to his family. He also wanted to know if we could add a bonus feature of the footage we didn't use: out-takes of him goofing around in the office, performing Biola cheers with Becca Hull (the Spirit Board Chairperson), and even holding a flower in his teeth while doing a small dance. We certainly obliged. If any of us had doubts before, we certainly knew then that God had placed this man in the perfect position. His youthful heart along with his mature Christian leadership made him the ideal man to be Biola's President all those years.
During my last few days as a student, I met with Dr. Cook in his office one afternoon. We talked about the ending of the school year, what he might do in his soon coming retirement, and what I might do in my soon coming post-undergrad days. But more than the content of our conversation, I remember more strongly that we closed the time by praying together.
The image of Dr. Cook praying is emblematic of how I and so many other students will remember him. Whether he was praying in chapel, praying for students, praying for the lost, or âin a testament to Dr. Cook's humilityâ praying for his own fame to diminish as the incoming President Dr. Barry Corey came to Biola, Dr. Cook was always a great example of how to pray. How to live a prayerful life is one of the many great lessons that Biola students were able to learn not by attending a class or a lecture series, but simply by observing the example of our beloved President Dr. Cook. -
I was probably the last one to interview Clyde. It was January 30 of this year, for the Biola Centennial video. It was actually our second interview. The first one, we experienced technical problems. Clyde and Anna Belle were so gracious to come back a second time and talk about Biola, how they met, their early years at the downtown campus, and so on. We will be using that interview for a longer version of the Centennial documentary, telling the 100-year story of our university.
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My wife, Cathy, and I were dining at Polly's Pies in Fullerton one evening a few years back, where we ran into Clyde and Anna Belle. They were so gracious and talked with us for a while, then left. When the time came to pay our bill, our waitress informed us it had been taken care of, including two pieces of pie for dessert, along with the tip. It didn't take me long to figure out who the benefactor was. A few days later, I ran into Clyde on campus, and he wanted to make VERY CERTAIN that in addition to the bill being paid, the pie was covered--and the tip. "You're sure she told you the tip as well?" "Yes, Clyde. She said it was all covered, including tip." If I was a bit quicker, I would have replied: "Pie? What pie, Clyde?"
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Biola found me in 1991 and I began attending in 1992. Dr. Clyde Cook was there for my entire Biola and Talbot experience. I was very pleased to hear he was retiring and it gave me joy to think that this wonder servant of God spending well-earned time with family and friends.
I heard about his passage into glory the day after; good friends and fellow Biolans told me. Strangely, while I felt sorrow for Anna Belle Cook, I smiled with the realization that Dr. Cook was received in celebrated in heaven.
"Well done, good and faithful servant." If I have known any man about whom I could confidently assert would hear these words upon meeting our Lord and Savior, it is Clyde Cook. -
I spent almost three years at Biola and there were trials and highlights but one of my fondest and clearest memories was of an interview I did for the English Dept. I came to see Dr.Cook on a whim and he took my interview without question or appointment. I asked him the usual things one would ask the President of a College, but my favorite response came not to a question I asked but one he asked. He asked if I had my life planned out and I said yes, relaying many overly detailed plans I had for my life in a strict 5 year plan which included definitely not getting married or having any time for romantic "nonsense". He nodded, smiled and then sat back in his creaky swivel chair behind his desk and said this, "There are very few people who stick to such a plan as you just mentioned, the ones who do- must be meticulous, punctual and never veer from the road they have set out to do..." I remember him pausing as he leaned forward and continued, " those people don't have any fun...so try to remember that the road God sends you on usually is never the one you thought you'd be on, but it really does have the best stops along the way. "
It was good advice, had I followed the straight and narrow plan I had created I never would have fell in love or got married or be hearing the screech of my newborn son as I write this. -
These are the comments I made at the candlelight service held for Clyde on the Metzger lawn on April 14, 2008
There have been 3 really important big men in my life.
The first was my grandfather, âBig Rafeâ. He was a giant of a man to me. A cowboy, a rancher, a poet, a godly man of integrity and faith. A giant of a man who loved his Lord, is horses and his grandson, âLittle Rafeâ with a passion.
The second was my father-in law, Ted Misenhimer. The only dad Iâve had for the last 35 years. He, too, was a giant of a man to me. A teacher, a musician, a pilot, an author, a family man, a godly man of integrity who loved his Lord, music, teaching, airplanes, his family with a passion. Ted died 2 weeks ago. He had been married 70 years.
The third was Clyde Cook. He too, was a giant of a man to me. A colleague, a friend, a President, a godly man of integrity and prayer who loved his Lord, the Bible, Biola, Basketball, his wife, Anna Belle, and his family with a passion. None of us who knew him, will ever forget those corny jokes, and there came a time when we looked forward to them. Nor will we forget that he always recognized his wife, Anna Belle. He was modeling before us the graciousness of a dedicated husband.
Over 5 years ago I was diagnosed with a muscle wasting disease. Every day since then whenever we would meet on campus, he would tell me he had prayed for me, and I knew he wasnât simply speaking platitudes. I knew he was a man of his word. Clyde Cook the prayer warrior.
In the Bible, Moses is known as âthe man of Godâ. Clyde was Biolaâs man of God, and I can tell you this, he made it to the Promised Land. Iâll miss you Clyde. -
I wanted to share a memory that I had of Clyde Cook. I always see him at Biola in a suite and tie and a smile. But really the memory I have of him comes from outside of Biola. My wife and I had spent a day at Disneyland and we were in the line to get on the tram to go to the parking structure. And that is when we saw the surprise. There was Dr. Cook just a few lines over waiting for the tram as well. It looked like he had his grandkids and his wife was there. With a big smile, a hat and covering, because it had rained earlier that day. I will never forget that experience. He was human and he enjoyed being with his family at Disneyland.
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I began at Biola in the Fall of 1951, worked "across the street" (Hope Street) at Pacific Finance Corp., and eventually was a fellow student with Clyde and Annabelle. I mostly remember Clyde as a tall basketball player, and Anna Belle as his sidekick!
Just one memory of Clyde's ministry. After Irwin (Skip) Firchow and I were married in 1963, we went to Papua New Guinea where we translated the New Testament for one of the languages there. Then in 1978, with the translation work not yet done, our branch leaders asked that we serve for two years in Port Moresby as government representatives. It was during that time that Clyde made one of his trips to see how Biola grads were doing! It was our privilege and thrill to have him visit us!