Jack L Blackwell

Jack L Blackwell, age 80, passed away at his home in Kaysville with family on Friday, September 4, 2015. He was born June 7th, 1935 in Bland, Missouri to Elmer and Hazel (Crider) Blackwell.

Jack entered the Air Force in 1952, and was stationed in Wendover, Utah where he met and married his sweetheart, Annette Ecton. They lived in Japan and in other states when Jack left the Air Force to join the Navy as a Construction Electrician in the Construction Battalions, or SeaBees (sometimes referred to as Naval Combat Engineers).  

While in the Navy, Jack took part in “Operation Deep Freeze” twice, where he was stationed in Antarctica and the South Pole and helped build many of the base structures that paved the way for today’s activities on that continent. He was also in Vietnam where he helped build many important bases and structures under combat conditions. He took his family to the Rota Naval Base in Spain where he enjoyed Boy Scouts and horses, and participated in numerous military activities to help the country during some very tense moments of the cold war. At one time, he was the driver for Vice President Spiro T. Agnew when he was touring military bases in Europe. He was also part of the American efforts to build Diego Garcia into what has today become a vital naval base in that region of the world.

After serving his country for over 21 years, Jack retired to the Salt Lake City area where he worked at Hill Air Force base, eventually retiring from there as the Superintendent of the Outside Electrical Shop.

Jack then took on a new role in life as the manager of the Kaysville Superwash, a job which he loved as he was able to work with machinery and electrical equipment, meet and greet customers, and run a small business.

Health forced Jack to eventually give up working completely, and he enjoyed the remainder of his days as a father, grandfather, and great grandfather.

Jack enjoyed learning and took courses in Heating and Air Conditioning, computer programming, and other college and technical courses. He loved working with wood, playing golf, and above all serving his country.

Jack knew no strangers and was able to talk to anyone and everyone. He counted everyone as his friend and was a friend to many.

He is survived by his beloved wife of 59 years, Annette, sisters Marlene Stanley and Shirley Terrill, son Jack (Lynn), daughter Kathie (Todd) Holtfeltz, 6 grandchildren, and 11 great grandchildren.

A graveside service will be held Friday, September 11, 2015 at 2pm at the Kaysville Cemetery.