LYNCHBURG -- The day started with an omelet and coffee at a local restaurant, where the Rev. Jerry Falwell paid equal attention to waitresses and visitors who stopped at his table.

He sketched out plans for his Liberty University, fully confident that his breakfast companion, vice president Ronald Godwin, would bring them to fruition as usual.

The two men left about 10 a.m. for their offices. When Falwell, 73, was late for an 11 a.m. meeting at his Thomas Road Baptist Church, staff rushed into his office and found him collapsed on the floor. He never regained consciousness, despite the efforts of emergency personnel.

"It's the saddest day of my life. ... It was all so sudden" said Jerry Falwell Jr., recalling a Monday four-wheeler ride with his father on Liberty Mountain. "Our team is in place, but it will be a challenge. He is irreplaceable, but we feel the school is on solid ground."

The elder Falwell, a man whose ambitions often outstripped his financial means, relied on his faith to build up his ministries and Liberty University. The son of an agnostic bootlegger, he came to the Baptist faith and built his school through sheer will, often finding the solution to its growing pains in prayer on his knees. Falwell's long hours were legendary, as one of America's prominent evangelicals and a frequent target of liberal critics.

In 1967, Falwell spread his message with his "Old Time Gospel Hour," first by radio and then on television. He also thrust his vision into the political arena through the now-defunct Moral Majority.

Falwell Jr. succeeds his father as chancellor and executive officer of the 36-year-old university. His younger brother, Jonathan, becomes senior pastor at the 24,000-member church his father founded in a former Donald Duck soft drink bottling plant.

"Pappy is going to be with the Lord," Godwin said. "After all of these years of service, he's in the good place."

Just two hours after Falwell's death, the campus was reeling with shock and incredulity. Students packed into the 6,000-seat sanctuary for an impromptu gathering, where they sniffled and clasped hands as they listened to praise and reflections about Falwell's ministries.

"He was a man who never believed it couldn't be done," said Edward Hindson, a professor of religion. "I can't imagine what heaven is like with Jerry Falwell. I'm sure he's already trying to improve it."

His family gathered quietly at their home, having spent a "tough day" after rushing to Falwell's bedside at Lynchburg General Hospital, Falwell Jr. said. Falwell's cardiologist told the family the death was "painless and sudden," attributing it to a cardiac rhythm abnormality, a defect common to many kinds of heart disease.

Falwell Jr. said a funeral service is planned for Sunday at his father's church.

With four days until Saturday's graduation, students took a break from exams, returning books and packing for home to gather at the church.

Liberty University's founder was affectionately called Papa Jerry and was known for cruising campus in his Suburban and honking at students as he passed, or even sneaking backstage during Christmas pageants to give hugs.

Although Falwell's death was not a total surprise to outsiders -- he was in the hospital three times in 2005 -- students were numb.

"On my way to exams I noticed the flags were at half-mast. There was an ominous feeling," said sophomore Saleh Sabat, 20, of Leesburg. "I think Liberty University will continue to grow ... but it just won't be the same."

A tearful Sarah McMahon, a sophomore from Connecticut, said she was inspired in her spiritual walk by Falwell.

"I'm really hurt," she said. "He never backed down. ... That was really encouraging to me as a Christian."

Falwell founded Liberty in 1971, creating an empire from the side of a mountain, etched with an LU monogram visible from miles away. Falwell hoped to nearly triple Liberty's enrollment in a decade, plans that are still in place. He also started the Liberty Christian Academy, a Christian law school and other ministries that have total revenues of more than $200 million annually.

"He's a giant man of faith," said Mat Staver, dean of the law school and founder of Liberty Counsel.

Falwell was saved at 18 and, at his pastor's urging, went to Baptist Bible College in Springfield, Mo., instead of the University of Notre Dame, where he had planned to study journalism. He met his future wife, Macel, at Park Avenue Baptist Church in Lynchburg, where she played piano.

Her wedding dress is preserved in a campus museum that chronicles their lives. Along with their two sons, they have a daughter, Jeannie, a surgeon in Richmond and a professor of surgery at the Medical College of Virginia.

While Falwell had many prominent supporters -- including presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, author Tim LaHaye and minister Jerry Vines -- he also had detractors both locally and nationally.

While offering condolences to the family, Falwell critics blasted his views on homosexuality.

"We will always remember him as a founder and leader of America's anti-gay industry," said Matt Foreman, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

Even in the face of criticism, family and friends of Falwell find comfort in the faith he followed.

"As Christians we know death is a reality, but we are always surprised," Provost Boyd Rist said. "We're trying to blend the obvious sorrow with the joy that we know Dr. Falwell is in heaven."