Don Odle

Don Odle was one of those special people who came into my life as a result of my work at Taylor University. Coach Odle, as he was known, was a pioneer in sports evangelism, taking basketball teams around the world during a career at Taylor in which his teams won over 400 games. Always ready with a joke, one of my dearest memories of him was the day he first met our daughter Katie. When she told him she was in fifth grade, he replied, "I loved fifth grade ... they were the best three years of my life!"

This photo was taken during a gathering on the back porch of his former home in Upland when he had a number of his old players over for one last time of reminiscing and laughter. As former players like Roger Jenkinson, Tim Diller, Rick Seaman and Steve Brooks told one funny Coach Odle story after another, the group laughed and remembered the great times spent with an incredible man.