Jack, 95, died September 11, 2020. He was born June 25, 1925, in Ferndale, Washington. At age 17, Jack enlisted in the US Army during WW11 and served as a paratrooper in the 17th Airborne Division. He saw combat in the Battle of the Bulge and Operation Varsity, the jump on the Rhine that remains the largest airborne operation in military history. Jack received the Purple Heart for wounds suffered and was awarded the Bronze Star for gallantry.

Unable to find work when he returned home, Jack hitchhiked to Winthrop, Washington, where he found work as a smokejumper, working for pioneer smokejumper Francis Lufkin. Jack jumped at NCSB 1946-47.

He moved to Bremerton, WA, in 1961 and became self-employed at a land developer.