Ted Cook; Arranged Tours of South Pacific

Ted Cook, 58, who arranged Tahitian tours for more than 100,000 travelers. Educated at Cal State Long Beach, Cook was a geologist in aerospace with North American Rockwell when he decided in 1964 that he needed a vacation. A friend suggested Tahiti, and Cook began a lifelong love affair with the South Pacific. He quit aerospace, moved aboard a boat in Long Beach and set up an office at the nearby pay phone, dubbing his new venture “Islands in the Sun.” Eventually adding Fiji, the Cook Islands, Australia and New Zealand to his tours, Cook sent more than 100,000 people to Tahiti. After 10 years Cook turned a profit, and after more than 25 years he sold his tour business to Accor International, a French hotel chain with outlets in Tahiti. Cook later founded and was president of Discover Wholesale Travel in Irvine. On Sunday in Newport Beach of leukemia.