ROBERTSDALE, Alabama -- The man who runs the world’s most famous computer company came home like always last Christmas, flying in through the Pensacola airport.

There were some sightings at local stores, but he mostly lounged around, spending hours with his parents, in the house and neighborhood where he grew up.

No one will say much more about the visit than that. When it comes to Tim Cook, Robertsdale wraps him in a protective hug and keeps strangers with their curious questions at arm's length.

But the people of Robertsdale are also very proud of the 53-year-old chief executive officer of the mighty Apple Inc., no one more so than his parents, Geraldine and Don Cook. Recently, Geraldine shared a bit of Tim’s story, as did some others from Robertsdale.

It is a small window from which to know him better, but offers some insight into how Robertsdale became his home, how it shaped him and why he is drawn back.

Roots In Robertsdale

If you grew up in Robertsdale, you might remember Tim Cook's brothers, Gerald and Michael.

It was in 1971 when Geraldine and Don Cook found good cause to settle down with their three sons in Robertsdale, a place of 2,300 residents and endless miles of the rich, green farmland that was always Baldwin County’s pride.

They chose Robertsdale because they wanted their growing boys to be able to go to the same school. That hadn’t been possible in Pensacola, or in Mobile, where they’d lived for short spells.

Robertsdale, said Geraldine, “was just a little hole in the ground.” But it was cozy, and they were glad to be there. The family house, a split-level place, was one of the few on East Silverhill Avenue.

The older boy was Gerald. Youngest was Michael. Tim was in the middle, born in Mobile 11 years earlier.

Don and Geraldine Cook both hailed from rural Alabama. She was from a country town outside of Greenville in Butler County; he was from neighboring Crenshaw County.

Don served as a foreman for Alabama Dry Dock and Shipbuilding, the largest employer in Mobile at the time, building and repairing ships for the military on Pinto Island. Geraldine worked at Robertsdale’s Lee Drug Store, one of the only pharmacies around.

Robertsdale, riding on a farm economy and the dollars from tourists passing to and fro to the beaches at Gulf Shores 40 minutes away, ranged over only about five square miles, so folks generally had an idea about who was who.

All three of the Cook boys worked part-time jobs when they were old enough to shoulder some responsibility. Tim’s first job was delivering newspapers, his mother said. He later worked at a restaurant and then at the drugstore with his mom.

‘Always meticulous’

Tim possessed a studious nature that was apparent as early as the eighth grade.

“He is the pride and joy of our town,” said Susie Kendrick Vivar, a former classmate who still makes her home in Robertsdale. “We’re all very proud to say that he lived here.”

Teachers describe a friendly, diligent, long-limbed teenager who played trombone in the band and served on the yearbook staff.

“You didn’t go around calling him a nerd,” said Barbara Davis, who taught Cook math. “He was just the kind of person you liked to be around.” She added, “He was a reliable kid. He was always meticulous with his work, so I knew it would be done right.”

The Robertsdale school yearbook staff started its tasks very early, in the summer months. In his senior year, Cook was the staff’s business manager, keeping the books and reeling in the ads. He was, said Davis, “the kind of person you need” for such a job.

Selecting a college was, much as like it is today, demarcated between Auburn and Alabama, although there were plenty of students who went to local colleges or straight to the workforce.

Cook’s mind had long been made up. “Ever since he was in the seventh grade he said, ‘I want to go to Auburn some way or another,’” his mother said.

In a 2010 commencement speech at the university, Cook famously said, "Some decisions are pretty obvious."

The only student smarter than Cook in his Class of 1978, at least according to the grading sheets, was Teresa Prochaska Huntsman, who became their class valedictorian. Cook would be salutatorian.

In their senior year, Huntsman said, she and Cook both began to worry that they weren’t “learning enough” from their chemistry teacher. The teacher, she said, seemed focused on giving quick notes, then dismissing everyone to gym.

According to Huntsman, she and Cook, fearing that they’d be lost in college chemistry in a year or two, went to their counselor, asking to be placed in a tougher class. The counselor told them – the two highest achieving seniors – not to worry.

Both students went on to study industrial engineering at Auburn. Huntsman now works as an application developer analyst in Boise, Idaho.

“He wasn’t one-dimensional,” Huntsman said, reflecting on their school days. “I didn’t know anybody who didn’t like him. He had a great personality.”

‘The human side’

Cook’s life, after Robertsdale and Auburn, is relatively well publicized.

After college, he joined IBM, where he worked until 1994, picking up a master’s degree from Duke University. He spent a few years at Intelligent Electronics, also in North Carolina, before moving on to Compaq. Then the call from Steve Jobs came.

Cook is known to be an exceptionally private man; other than that he likes to go to the gym, and that he follows Auburn football, not much else has been written that’s definitive in any way.

In December, Cook spoke at an event hosted by Auburn in New York at the United Nations headquarters. The College Of Human Sciences honored Cook, alongside Howard Buffett, son of billionaire investor, Warren Buffett, at a black-tie gala, where Cook received Auburn’s International Quality of Life Award.

The ballroom floor overflowed with guests. Behind the lectern, Cook read aloud a speech that was much less formulaic than usual, more relaxed even, and veered away from the latest technology at Apple.

He chose the moment to divulge more about his world view and his own thoughts about his Southern roots. His remarks touched on racism, gay rights and immigration reform.

“Growing up in Alabama in the 1960s, I saw the devastating impacts of discrimination,” Cook said as he began.

“It just showed the human side of Tim Cook that I think so many folks wanted to know about,” said B.T. Roberts, of Mobile, who attended the event and serves on the university’s board of trustees. “I thought it was very well received.”

And on the same gala evening, officials back in little Robertsdale arranged for Cook to receive a proclamation naming Dec. 10 "Mr. Timothy D. Cook Day" in the town.

Said Mayor Charles Murphy, “He’s a product of the area. To be the CEO of one of the major companies in the world is a big deal.”