Zemery Jack Randall passed away on June 23, 2022. He was 95 years old.
Jack was born Nov. 29, 1926, at the family’s homestead potato farm in Powell Butte, Oregon near Bend. Jack’s father was killed in a logging accident when Jack was just 2 years old. Jack was raised primarily by his sister Lela and her husband Harold on the farm. Jack’s mother, Laura Bessie Randall, was forced to find work as a hotel cook in Bend so that she could earn the money necessary for the staples the farm couldn’t provide. The farm never provided a level of self-sufficiency, (simple pleasures like chewing gum were an unaffordable luxury), and when potato prices plummeted in the early 1930s the farm was lost to foreclosure. This resulted in a nomadic period for Jack and his family in which they lived in several towns in Oregon before finally settling down in Hillsboro in time for Jack to start middle school.
In 1941 the country entered World War II and shortly after Bessie and Lela were working the swing shift at Swan Island Shipyard in support of the war effort. Jack sought company at the local cinema where he developed his love of movies. Jack credited the newsreels depicting the war with sparking his fascination with airplanes. In 1943 he enlisted in the Army Air Corps. He later re-enlisted as a reservist in the newly created U.S. Air Force. Jack was stationed in the Philippines as an airplane maintenance mechanic in both WWII and the Korean Conflict.
When he returned to the states Jack enrolled at Pacific University on the GI Bill, where he showed an aptitude for accounting. Jack was later accepted to the University of Washington where he completed his studies and earned his degree. Jack began his career in accounting and finance, the bulk of which was spent at Seattle-area hospitals, and then winding up his career at the Boeing Company where he retired in 1988.
In 1956 Jack met Edith May Carlson, the daughter of Swedish immigrants, at a young adult group at University Christian Church. Jack and Edith were married Nov. 16, 1957. Together they raised two daughters, Sharon and Pamela. Jack is survived by his wife Edith; daughters Sharon and Pamela and their spouses; along with seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, all of whom he adored.
After retirement Jack and Edith moved from Seattle to Port Ludlow, remodeling their vacation cabin into a beautiful home overlooking the Hood Canal. Jack stayed busy in retirement pursuing his passion for community service. Jack was an avid churchgoer, serving as a board member of Lutheran Church of the Redeemer and later Peace Lutheran Fellowship of Port Ludlow. Jack also served on the Board of Habitat for Humanity and was the founder of Olympic Peninsula Bluebills, a service organization for Boeing employees. He also was a proud member of East County Rotary.
Jack loved humor and was quick with a joke. He has a habit of chuckling aloud while reading the funny pages in the newspaper, baiting anyone to ask what he was laughing at so he could share the joke. He also had a keen interest in genealogy and he worked many hours on ancestry and family tree projects. Later in life Jack worked closely with Sharon composing a document touching on memories of the people and events that shaped him throughout his lifetime. The document was always a work in progress but he summed it up at the end with a message for Edith….
“Regardless of how we look at the end of life I still see you as the girl I took to breakfast the morning after our wedding and I hope that you see me the same way. I will always love you.”
Jack passed peacefully at 4:30 p.m. June 23, holding Edith’s and Sharon’s hands.
Memorial gifts may be directed to Peace Lutheran Fellowship, PO Box 65295, Port Ludlow, WA 98365
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, July 16, 2022, at Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, 45 Redeemer Way, Chimacum, WA 98325.
