GLADEWATER, Texas--Buck Hammer, who in 1953 donated the original 20-25 acres of property that became the core of the Ambassador College campus near Big Sandy, died in a Longview, Texas, hospital early Saturday, Nov. 15th 2003, after a heart attack.

Mr. Hammer, 81, had complained on Friday of feeling ill. Later, at the residence of son and daughter-in-law Scott and Terrie Hammer of Gladewater, his condition worsened, so Scott called an ambulance.

Mr. Hammer died shortly after midnight in a Longview hospital.

Mr. Hammer, along with Scott, was a founder and owner of the Vital Earth Resources and Carl Pool companies, based in Gladewater. Vital Earth Resources operates the "digester," the huge metal cylinder once owned by the Worldwide Church of God and Ambassador College that processes organic waste and other materials into fertilizer and soil conditioners.

Mr. Hammer had served as an elder in the Radio/Worldwide Church of God and, more recently, the United Church of God. For several years during the operation of Ambassador College, he was its director of buildings and grounds. He was one of the WCG's first deacons, ordained in the 1950s.

"Buck was friendly to all and as a result had many, many friends," said his brother-in-law, David Antion of Pasadena, Calif.

"He was fair in his dealings and honest in his practices. He never beat around the bush, and when he had something to say to a person he said it straight out. He could say things to people in authority that most people would never dare say, and they still loved him and didn't take offense." He was "one of the stalwarts in the Church of God, and he will be sorely missed. Another era has passed with his passing."