Colonel Jack Hardy Egginton

Colonel Jack Hardy Egginton (US Air Force, Retired) died Thursday, October 15, 2015 of a well worn, but worn out heart. Born June 10, 1924 in Ogden, Utah to Dorsor Frank Egginton and Ada Abigail Hardy, Jack lived a life filled with service to his country, his community, his wife and family and his church.
A graduate of Ogden High and the University of Utah with additional graduate studies at Stanford, Jack was a veteran of three wars – WWII, Korea and Vietnam. He was not only a skilled fighter pilot (Night Fighter in the Pacific during WWII), but also a decorated officer – the recipient of many awards including the Bronze Star, six Air Medals and the Legion of Merit. During his thirty-year career, Colonel Egginton was a Fighter Squadron Commander, Chief of the Military Assistance Group in Brussels, Belgium and Military Advisor to three Ambassadors. After retiring from the Air Force in 1975, Jack returned to Utah and earned a teaching certificate. He spent the next ten years teaching a diverse group of fifth-graders at Meadowlark Elementary School in Rose Park. During this time, he also served ten years as Scout Master of Troop 272 in Bountiful. After retiring from teaching, he served an LDS Mission with his wife, Joyce, in Jackson Mississippi from 2000 to 2002.
Jack’s friends and family knew him as an avid fly-fisherman, with a cast that could only be described as “poetry in motion.” Those who knew him best will remember his ability to live in the present – not dwelling on the past, and for being devoted to his wife of 62 years through the challenges of her severe health issues. To the end, he was confident that another great adventure awaited him and his beloved Joyce “up in the wild blue yonder.”
He is survived by his daughters: Lynne (Michael) McLean and Tracy (Con) Thueson; his son, Jack (Melinda) Egginton; 11 grandchildren; and 16 great-grandchildren.
The family wishes to express heartfelt thanks for Jack’s excellent care to Apple Village Assisted Living Center and Brighton Hospice.
Funeral services will be held at 12:00 p.m., Monday, October 19, 2015 at Russon Brothers Mortuary, 295 North Main, Bountiful, where a viewing will be held from 10:45-11:45 a.m. prior to services.