Owen J. Cook, 90, president of the Church College of Hawaii from 1964-71, died June 25 of respiratory failure in Grand Terrace, California, where he and his wife of 64 years, Ellen, lived for the past 34 years.
President Cook, who was originally from Tremonton, Utah, earned his doctorate in educational administration at the University of California at Berkeley and was a member of the Church's Pacific Board of Education, which oversaw the establishment of CCH in 1955.
President Cook was working as the assistant superintendent of business for the Long Beach, California, Unified School District when he was asked to take over the reins at CCH in 1964. The university became BYU-Hawaii in 1974.
During his tenure in Laie, President Cook increased the enrollment at CCH to about 1,200, including students from throughout the Pacific island sand Asia. He also helped set up the work/study sponsorship program with the Polynesian Cultural Center that has since gone on to help over 13,000 BYU-Hawaii students gain an education. After leaving Laie, President Cook returned to California and continued working in educational administration.
In addition to his wife, President Cook is survived by two sons, Owen J. Cook II and John Cook; two daughters, Alice Enos and Carol Wright; 16 grandchildren,21 great-grandchildren, and other family members.