By Lorell Fleming/ South Lake Post-Tribune, February 7, 2001
The Rev. Jack Hyles, pastor of First Baptist Church in Hammond and co-founder of Hyles-Anderson College, died Tuesday in Chicago after undergoing open-heart surgery Monday.
Hyles, 74, died at 9:43 a.m. Tuesday in the Intensive Care Unit of the University of Chicago Hospitals, according to hospital spokesman John Easton.
Easton was unable to release additional details of Hyles' death, he said.
The pastor had been transferred to University of Chicago Hospitals from The Methodist Hospitals Southlake Campus in Merrillville at midnight Friday. He went to Methodist after suffering a heart attack on Jan. 30.
Mourning along with his family are throngs of faithful First Baptist churchgoers, church staffers and followers nationwide.
"Dr. Hyles has affected not just thousands, but millions. He's going to be missed by many, from the smallest child in Chicago who rides the bus to get to his sermon, to the richest person in the church," said Sandy Shelhart, a First Baptist member for about 38 years.
Shelhart, a Hammond resident, has been an assistant to the church secretary for many years.
First Baptist has had a membership of more than 100,000 since 1959.The Rev. Ray Young, assistant pastor at First Baptist Church of Hammond, said the church has been flooded with phone calls, e-mails and telegrams all day as the news of Hyles' death travelled.
In addition to serving as pastor of First Baptist since August 1959, Hyles is the author of 48 books and pamphlets with a circulation of more than 14 million copies in sales. Many of his sermons are accessible by tape.
Add to that the students and staffers of educational institutions established or co-founded by Hyles - including Hyles-Anderson College in unincorporated St. John Township and Baptist-based elementary, junior high and high schools in Schererville. Each school is housed in separate buildings, also located on Joliet Road in Schererville.
More than 2,700 students from across the nation attend the college at 8400 Burr St.
As with many high-profile figures, Hyles and his church attracted criticism from some while getting praise from others.
Many criticized Hyles for standing by a deacon from his church who was accused of child molestation several years ago. That deacon was later convicted of the charge.
But Schererville Councilman Ed Cook described the pastor as always being cordial and receptive when dealing with the Schererville town government. "He was really a first-class gentleman," Cook said.
Born and raised just outside of Dallas, Texas, Hyles was the son of parents who owned a grocery store and lost it during the Depression. His parents divorced before he was 6, Shelhart said.
Hyles began preaching at the age of 19, according to First Baptist church officials.