Jack Lee Retzloff

80 years old, passed on at home on December 27, 2010. He was born on March 20, 1930 in Eureka, CA to George H. and Mabel May Retzloff. He had three brothers, Vernon Clark, James, and Thomas. Vernon died in the south Pacific during World War II. James, a gifted football player and World War II veteran, passed away in 2002. Jack grew up in Eureka and attended local schools. In his early years, he was an avid outdoors man and horseman who hunted, fished, and raised cattle on the various family ranches in Larabee Creek, Showers Pass, Blocksburg, Bridgeville, and Cold Spring. Both his dad and Uncle Walt owned the roadside billboard business between Medford and Fort Bragg, which enabled Jack and his brothers to spend summers and holidays in the outdoors. In junior high school and high school Jack became interested in sports, and excelled in track, basketball, and football. He was the star halfback in football at Eureka High School and went on to star for the undefeated Santa Rosa Junior College Bear Cats. His football prowess as a halfback for Santa Rosa led to Jack being nominated "Little All American" and he was actively recruited by many top colleges, including Stanford University, University of Oregon, and University of San Francisco. He was one of the few guys who could run for a touchdown while waving to a girlfriend in the stands. He eventually chose to go to the University of San Francisco and was a reserve halfback on the famous 1950 USF team which went undefeated but was not invited to any bowl games because the team had two star players who were black. The University of San Francisco football program was dismantled after that year. Jack was in the Army from 1951 through 1954 and was stationed around the country before settling at Fort Ord. He married Mitzi LaVerne Gregori in 1951 and his son Michael was born in 1952 at Fort Ord. Jack was honorably discharged in early 1954 and moved back to Eureka where his second child Cynthia Ann was born that year. Jack enrolled at Humboldt State College, played halfback for the 1954 team, and was a star player. He later began working for Bernie Anderson Pontiac where he was a top car salesman, and then went on to work for Ernest Pierson Company where he sold real estate. Jack was Ernest's top salesman for a number of years and the pair were lifelong friends. Jack decided to become a real estate appraiser in the early 1960s and went on to work for the Humboldt County Assessor's Office as an appraiser. During this time, third child Debra Lynn was born and Jack decided it was time to work independently as a fee appraiser, his main occupation for the rest of his life. Jack was separated from his wife Mitzi in 1970 and officially divorced in 1975. During that time he fell in love with Cindy Olsen. Jack was very successful in business. His expertise was in making money work for him. Jack was a shrewd real estate investor who owned many commercial and rental properties in Humboldt County. In 1989, Jack was appointed as a California Probate Referee for Humboldt and Del Norte Counties by former Governor Gray Davis and held that position for 9 years. In addition, he wanted to be in a business that was "fun." One such business was horse racing, a sport he always loved. In 1979, he and Cindy bought their first horse, "Struttin' Honey,"and it was an immediate love affair with horse racing. They traveled throughout the Unites States, going to as many race tracks as possible. Over the past 30 years, they owned many Stakes horses, including their pride and joy, "Mr. Double Down," who won the $200,000 Hollywood Express Race in 1998. Their other horses included R. Payday, Lady Las Vegas, Blue Avenue, Mr. Megabucks, Swayaway (their current 3 year old), and many more. Jack could be seen on a daily basis at the Redwood Acres Turf Club. There was rarely a day that he would miss betting on horses. He enjoyed his family of friends at the Turf Club. Jack was also a master at poker and other card games. For a number of years, many prominent citizens of Humboldt County could often be found at the Retzloff home playing all-nighters on weekends. Jack played at major poker tournaments in Reno and Las Vegas before Indian casinos became legal in California. Jack taught his children how to play various card games when they were very young and all were proficient players. His daughter Debbie and he often played poker tournaments together locally and in Las Vegas. Jack's purpose in life seems to have been to have fun, and he was very good at that. He was always out to have a good time first and work second. He was an "original." He was very outgoing and people oriented and he never met a stranger. He didn't have a problem with "breaking the rules," and almost always managed to talk his way out of trouble. On the phone, when spelling his last name out for people, he always pointed out that the double Fs in his last name stood for "double friendly." Jack was a San Francisco Giants fan from the time the team moved to California from New York and was part of the Giants Boosters Club for years. He and Cindy traveled all over the states and Canada to watch them play. After years of torture, he was able to take great delight that he was able to see his favorite team win the World Series. Jack and Cindy were world travelers but their favorite spot was Aruba, where they went for several weeks every year. Jack's love for Blackjack and Texas Hold'em made Las Vegas their next favorite and most frequent destination. Jack was a proud Dad of three children and grandfather of six. There wasn't a day that passed when he wasn't bragging about their accomplishments. Jack is survived by his long time companion, Cindy K. Olsen; his son Michael (Rose); his daughter Cynthia Retzloff McKenzie (Scott); his daughter Debbie Olson (Randy); his grandchildren Chelsea Retzloff, Katy McKenzie, Kara McKenzie, Sean Retzloff, Randy Olson, and Lacey Olson; his brother Tom Retzloff and Tom's wife Kathy; his nephew Todd Retzloff (Jennifer); his niece Kristine Benzow (Aaron); nephew Ken Retzloff (Debbie); his grandnephews Justin Retzloff, Troy Retzloff, and William Benzow; his grand nieces Rebecca and Jody; and his brother-in-law Gerald Hoopes, Gerald's wife Merilea Partch, and their son Roy Partch. Jack's extended family is so large that it is impossible to list them all. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be sent to the Humboldt Area Foundation in memory of Jack Retzloff for the "Friends of the Humboldt County Fair Fund." 373 Indianola Rd, Bayside, ca 95524. Pall bearers are Dave DeVoto, Bill Pittman, Lawrence Lazio, Jack Macdonald, Pat Murphy, and Dave McGinty. Honorary pall bearers will be Jack Pederson, Henry Ramos, and Richard Mann. A celebration of life will be held at the First Assembly of God Church at 1060 Hoover Street, Eureka on January 3, 2011, at 10:00 AM. Please sign the guest book at www.Times-Standard.com, click obits.