1934
2013
Marion Lee Jack, 78, of Talent, Ore., died March 6, 2013, in Rogue Valley Medical Center in Medford, Ore.
Marion was born Aug. 11, 1934, in Fremont, Neb., to Raymond Jack and Helen Samson.
He graduated from Henley High School in Klamath Falls, Ore., in 1952 and served in Germany with the U.S. Army 18th Infantry Division from 1953 to 1955, obtaining the rank of specialist.
Marion returned to Ashland, Ore., and obtained a bachelor's degree in secondary education in 1958 from Southern Oregon College of Education, later earning a master's degree in 1963.
He taught science at McLaughlin Junior High School from 1959 to 1990 and for two years taught social studies at Medford Mid High School. He was considered an outstanding educator in the Medford School District.
During his teaching career, Marion earned awards for outstanding contributions to science education and also served the education community as an assistant coach in football and head coach in wrestling.
From 1962 to 1985, he worked summers as a U.S. Park Ranger at Crater Lake National Park, eventually serving as seasonal law enforcement supervisor.
Marion was active in the Jackson County community, serving as commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars Grizzly Post No. 353 in Ashland as well as the American Legion, where he received awards for his services. In addition, he volunteered as a patient advocate and member of Mended Hearts for Rogue Valley Medical Center, assisting cardiac patients with their recovery.
He was preceded in death by his mother, father and two brothers.
Survivors include his wife Betty Jack; son Jesse (Patti) Jack of Boulder City, Nev.; daughter Jonel (John) Todd of Talent; granddaughters Brittiany (Chris) Petetit of Talent, Army Specialist Nicole Todd of Ft. Lewis, Wash., Kathryn Jack and Jennifer Jack of Boulder City, and Mary Jack of California, Pa.; and sister Darlene Craney, Logan, Utah.
Marion will be missed by his family and the community he served.
A memorial service will be 2 p.m. Monday in Medford Neighborhood Church, 1819 W. Stewart Ave. in Medford.
Please sign the online guest book at www.heraldandnews.com/obituaries.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
4 Entries
Marion was a real old fashioned ranger. There were few his kind when I knew him and less today. He knew both the front and back country of the park, Crater Lake, he love.
He helped with park interpretation by sharing his horses for programs on the Rim, especially the John Hillman history event.
We are all the better for knowing Marion Jack.
Tom McDonough
March 14, 2013
I first met Marion at Crater Lake and he was also my mentor when I student taught. I really enjoyed him. A great friend. He taught me so much.
Lloyd Smith
March 10, 2013
From Larry Smith who worked with Marion at Crater Lake National Park for over 20 seasons.
Marion was a seasonal ranger at Crater Lake for many years. He also leased several horses to the Park for trail and Rim Village patrol and for Living History programs.
June 1962 Marion Jack, Science Teacher from Medford, begins his long, seasonal career at Crater Lake. Marion supplies the Park's horse patrol for two decades. Marion figures there are pictures of him “all over the world.” (see: May 1985 – eventually sets the seasonal ranger record of 24 continous summers.)
Summer 1964 Three seasonal rangers working in the Park are named: Marion Jackson, Marion Jack, and Marion “Jack” Wirth. The Park's personnel director is named: Marion Anderson.
August 1967 Ranger Marion Jack apprehends a fourteen-year-old runaway boy who had been camping in Mazama Campground. The boy had hidden in the back seat of a new car, until after the dealership closed for the night. He then drove the car out and for some unknown reason selected to visit Crater Lake. A fourteen year old, with a new car and no camping equipment invited an investigation and eventually to a confession.
Ranger Marion Jack apprehends a thirteen-year-old runaway English girl at Annie Spring. The family was headed back to England after living in Portland for a year and visited Crater Lake for one last American camping trip. Unknown to her parents, the girl made arrangements for her boyfriend to pick her up at the Entrance Station, but he never showed. Confusing the search effort was that the rangers were looking for an English girl, not realizing that the girl had lost her accent during her stay in Oregon.
October 14 1976 While inventorying the contents of a nearly empty, dirty, ripped and torn backpack, Rangers Larry Smith and Marion Jack discover a Volkswagen key in a zippered side pocket. A suggestion is made to compare the VW key with a Xerox copy of a VW key from the Charles McCullar file, who was thought to have disappeared somewhere in the Park a year and half earlier. An “electric charge” went through the two rangers as the overlaid key made a perfect fit! A horse patrol, lead by Marion and Dave Lange set out immediately to search the area where the backpack had been found. At 1:30 p.m. the radio call came that McCullar's remains had been found, scattered over and down a steep bank of the Bybee Creek drainage, four miles from Lightning Springs. The FBI is called in to complete the investigation.
Summer 1978 Rangers Marion Jack and Vic Affolter, while on horseback patrol, hear something large crashing through the forest at the old PCT entrance on the West Road. A pinecone is tossed through the air and the strong odor emanating from whatever it was is over powering. The horses become very nervous and skittish.
July 11 1981 Ranger Marion Jack dispatches (shoots) two domestic sheep found grazing at the Cloud Cap viewpoint. The sheep had been observed living in the Park for the past two years.
May 1985 Marion Jack, a science teacher from Medford, “retires” after a record-setting 24 continuous summers as a road patrol ranger and supervisor. Marion also supplied the Park's horse patrols for over 10 years. (See June 1962.)
March 10, 2013
Marion was as beautiful as the Lake itself riding his Appaloosa
toward another spectacular Crater Lake sunset, the classic
National Park patrol Ranger...my early memory of an outstanding
Oregon landscape 50 years ago.
Ron Mastrogiuseppe
March 10, 2013
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