Robertson McQuilkin, 88, of Columbia, an author and missions leader who was noted for resigning the presidency of Columbia International University in 1990 to care for his Alzheimer’s-stricken wife, died June 2, 2016. Muriel died in 2003.

McQuilkin was remembered as a zealous proponent of worldwide evangelism and the patriarch of a family that helped pioneer the concepts of researching and reaching unreached people groups.

His sacrificial commitment to Muriel, however, was among McQuilkin’s greatest legacies. Perhaps most well-known of his 19 books was A Promise Kept, the story of how he cared for her through Alzheimer’s. Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary president Daniel Aiken tweeted that McQuilkin “was a hero indeed. I always require a couple to read ‘A Promise Kept when doing premarital counseling.’ ”

McQuilkin was a member of First Baptist Church Columbia. He is survived by his second wife, Deborah Jones, five children, 11 grandchildren, and three great grandchildren.