For the third time since 2004, Apple Computer’s Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook is taking the helm for CEO Steve Jobs, who went out on medical leave on January 17.

In an email to all Apple employees, Jobs stated “At my request, the board of directors have granted me a medical leave of absence so I can focus on my health. I will continue as CEO and be involved in major strategic decisions for the company. I have asked Tim Cook to be responsible for all of Apple’s day to day operations. I have great confidence that Tim and the rest of the executive management team will do a terrific job executing the exciting plans we have in place for 2011. I love Apple so much and hope to be back as soon as i can . In the meantime, my family and I would deeply appreciate respect for our privacy.”

Cook, a native of Robertsdale and a 1978 graduate of Robertsdale High School, began working for Apple in 1998 and is responsible for all the company’s worldwide sales and operations, including management of Apple’s supply chain, sales activities, service and support of all markets and counties, according to his company biography. He also heads up Apple’s Macintosh division.

Cook’s parents, Donald and Geraldine, still live in Robertsdale and he is remembered fondly by those who knew him back in his high school days, including Betty Rawls, who along with her husband Bill own Lee Drugs, where Cook worked after school during high school.

“He was a fine young man and very smart too. He worked hard and helped stock and clean up the store for us. We hired several young boys to help and he was just your average guy. But you could tell he was smart,” Rawls said.

Cook also went to school with Rawls daughter, Susan, and they worked on the yearbook staff together. “Susan always said he was funny and fun to be around and all the kids at school liked him. We haven’t seen or talked to him since he has been working for Apple but he has really done well for himself. I know from talking to his parents he is real good about coming back to visit them on holidays and other times during the year. He keeps in touch with them,” Rawls said.

Donna Brown, Rawls other daughter, said Cook was four years younger than her but remembers him being a great guy and hard worker. “When he worked for us, it was back in the 70’s and girls weren’t hired to do any stocking or lifting or climbing up ladders so that’s why my parents hired young guys. He didn’t have his head in a book and was really nice. I know his parents are extremely proud of him and I am glad he hasn’t forgotten about his Southern roots.”

Although Brown hasn’t seen or talked to Cook since high school, she recalls watching him give the commencement speech at Auburn University this May. “I was really impressed with him. He could have talked all about business and gave the usual speech they all give but he talked about himself and gave them advice about life and I thought that was really good.”

Because Cook graduated from Auburn in 1982 with a B.S. degree in Industrial Engineering, he has a special place in his heart for the Auburn Tigers and in his speech admitted to the graduates seated before him, he has about as much memorabilia in his Palo Alto office as the Auburn bookstore does.

Cook also expressed how honored he was to be back at Auburn and how it “feels like home to me”.

“Auburn played such a key role in my life and I have such a deep sense of humility because of my parents who sacrificed so much for me to go here and the teachers who taught me so much,’” Cook said.

After graduating from Auburn, Cook attended Duke University in Durham, N.C. and received his M.B.A. Then he spent 12 years at IBM as director of North American Fulfillment for manufacturing and distribution of the company’s personal computer division in North and Latin America. He also served as Vice President of Corporate Materials for Compaq and CEO at Intelligent Electronics.

In his address to the Auburn graduates, Cook shared some discoveries he had made along the way in his life and how they had shaped his thinking.

“One of my dreams was to attend Auburn University and the other was to work for Apple Computers. When I went to work for Apple in 1998, it was a much different company than it is now. They has been losing sales for years and were on the verge of extinction. I was still at Compaq and they were at the top of their game I was advised by friends to stay at Compaq and would be a fool to go work at Apple. Well, at that point I had to rely on my gut and intuition and it paid off,” Cook said.

Telling the graduates to give up on the life plan they have set for themselves and go with their intuition and do what they feel is right, Cook said he is glad he listened to his gut and for him, joining the Apple team was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

“Life throws us curveballs and we can’t count on predictability or the 25 year plan but we can prepare. Intuition will tell you which door to walk through but it won’t tell you what is on the other side. Abraham Lincoln said ‘I will prepare and someday my chance will come’. You will achieve more and go farther with preparation,” Cook explained. “Success without hard work is not possible. The most important decision I made was to trust my intuition.”

On the flip side, Cook said he has had his share of failures and disappointments in life but has lived by the words “This too shall pass” and advised the students to do the same.

“This has proven true fir me and I can tell you to not let your past dictate your future and don’t get distracted by life’s potholes. Let their be joy in your journey and not in the distant goal of the future,” Cook said.

In addition to his work at Apple, Cook serves on the board of directors at Nike, Inc., and the National Football Foundation.