Things have been heating up for Terry Crook ever since 1999 when he moved to Chapel Hill from Boston to escape the cold and live close to his daughter and her family.

A fresh infusion of warmth hit him on Jan. 25 when he was named Realtor of the year by the Greater Chapel Hill Association of Realtors. A plaque announcing his award sits on the front desk of the Coldwell Banker office in Southern Village, and his causal wardrobe now includes a blue golf shirt with Realtor of the year embroidered above his heart, presented to him by his Coldwell Banker team.

“We wanted to do something special for him,” said Myra Zollinger, an owner of the Coldwell Banker office. “Terry likes to wear those golf shirts, and the company wanted to honor him.”

Crook was no stranger to Zollinger when he arrived in town and paid her a visit.

“I remember when he walked into the office,” Zollinger said. Both are certified residential specialists, and Zollinger was at that time president-elect of the national Council of CRS. Crook had been named CRS of the year for 1998.

“He had family here and he was moving from the Boston area and wanted to buy a house. He and his wife, Sue, bought one approximately one block from my house,” Zollinger said. “As soon as Terry got his license he came in, and we became partners.”

The CRS designation requires a lot of schooling, and Crook has a knack for learning, having received a degree at Harvard University (which was still a college when he graduated in 1955).

“It’s not so much the courses that you take but the process you go through to get through — to learn how to study, how to learn things,” Crook said of his time at Harvard, which he attended on scholarship. While there, he met Sue, who was studying at Radcliffe.

Fresh out of school, Crook took a field sales job at Westinghouse Electric, where he remained for 18 years while their three children came along. He continued in sales and marketing of high technology products until 1986, when he switched careers and started selling real estate, which he’s been doing ever since. He has been a multi-million dollar/year producer since 1989; was Realtor of the year (Greater Boston) in 1994; and was North Carolina CRS of the year in 2005.

He also has been active with the association boards, serving as director of the Greater Boston board from 1993 to ‘97 and the Massachusetts association from 1996 to ‘98. He has served on the local board for six-and-a-half of the last eight years on numerous committees.

“My sense of humor helps,” Crook said of the asset that keeps him noticed. “I’m a wacky person.”

And he says that Sue, who has been married to him for 50-plus years, is the same.

“We see humor in all kinds of things,” he said. “We’ve often said that we’ve saved at least two other people from a dreadful fate by marrying each other.”

He’ll be a young 75 in April. After cutting back his hours when he turned 70, this may be as retired as he’s going to get.

“I’m going to sell real estate until they have to carry me off,” he said.

He works 40 hours a week.

“That’s part time in real estate,” he said.

The independence of working for himself drew Crook to real estate.

“Real estate is a service business as opposed to retail, and that’s particularly appealing,” he said. “You establish a relationship with prospects that hopefully will become clients and that’s rewarding. It’s challenging as well — some people are very difficult to work with.”

He lent hours last year to the Fix-A-Home project, where teams of volunteers spent several months identifying the needs of a homeowner and finding ways to do a home makeover in about 24 hours.

“We’ll select another recipient,” Crook said, adding that this time they’re looking for a single-parent family. “We’re trying to sort that out. A lot of people have the need. We’ll round up the appropriate contractors for the specialized work.”

Association members will do the rest.

For three hours once a month he lies back at UNC Hospitals and donates blood platelets.

“It’s like recycling life,” he said. “Most of the time, people needing it are undergoing cancer therapy. They’ve lost a lot and need a transfusion.”

He wears a Carolina blue rubber bracelet that provides him the opportunity to tell people how easy it is to help save someone’s life. He’s been donating since 1990, in addition to time he donates through his Realtor associations.

“The success of our association lies in our volunteers,” said Sue Millager, executive director of the Chapel Hill association. “Terry can be counted on to say yes whenever he is asked to help on any committee or complete any task. His knowledge base is very broad because of his years in the business. On more than one occasion I’ve called Terry for his advice and guidance. What a wonderful resource to have in place.”

Zollinger describes Crook as “a people person.”

“If someone in the community needs help, Terry is probably going to be the first one there to do it,” Zollinger said. “He’s just that kind of guy.”

“I enjoy what I’m doing,” Crook said.

Contact Valarie Schwartz at valariekays@mac.com or 923-3746.