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JOHN (JACK) CHARLES WOMACK passed away in February 1968, at the age of 22 years.
His cause of death was a rare form of meningitis. His brothers, Hank and Neil, and sister, Nancy, are all still living in various areas of the U.S. Hank shared this information….
.“My wife and I named our daughter, Jacy, after Jack. She is 12 now and, hopefully, will have some of Jack’s qualities. As long as you remember someone and think of them, I believe they are always with you.”
Randy McNerlin remembers the following…..
“Jack’s brother gave him an old yellow Cushman motor scooter when we were 10. We tinkered with it, got it started, then promptly scared ourselves learning to drive it. Jack loved the independence and freedom it gave him to feel the wind in his face. He patiently tolerated my need to be outdoors and would go on long hunts with me without much interest or complaint, However, occasionally he’d catch me taking something too seriously and chide ‘and you would be the great white hunter, would you?’ His own tastes were more refined…stealing peaches from backyards at night…finding the most ‘inside’ interpretation of a humorous situation and then laughing like a madman until emotional contagion snared the rest of us and making us laugh over something we didn’t quite get.
He was always a little smarter…a step a head but was never mean spirited. I think that was what those of us who loved him appreciated about him.”
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Sue Pittman (McPeak-Hunt)
In Memory of Jack Womack
From Class of 1965 Photo Archives
Bill (Jesse) Suber
I remember when he fell ill. We were at Tech together, living in Wells dorm. He had an old Matchless motorcycle that he loved to ride as fast as it would go. That was considerably faster than that old Cushman that McNerlin was referring to. Both Randy and I were learning to sky dive so one day I asked him for a lift. As was usual with Jack, he offered to take me. I got on with him (no helmet, of course) and we took off with me on the back wearing the parachute belonging to Randy and me. I'd never gone that fast on a motorcycle before and he just had to show me how fast it would go (flat out) and how stable it was by trying to rock that baby from side-to-side at full speed. He was a quiet one most of the time but when it came to living, he rocked!!
John Booth
Jack and I and several others including Randy McNerlin used to hang out together a lot in high school. The thing I most remember about Jack was his wonderful sense of humor. He knew hundreds if not thousands of jokes, and unlike many people who know a lot of jokes, was also very good with a quick funny aside, a pun, or any other kind of humorous observation. I got a few rides on that Cushman, always a thrill, until my mom found out. He was the first person I was close to and friends with who passed away. I still feel a sense of loss. What a happy person he was.
Robert Cowles 1966
In 1962, at the age of 14, my first ever paycheck went for a .44 revolver and the down payment on a worn out "53 Harley. Fortunately an older friend helped me get and keep it running. Thanks Jack....my current Harley is a different one, but I'm still riding....after all these years. Friends are forever!
Bob Cowles (MHS '66)