Jack Merritt Sink

1929 - 2020

Jack Merritt Sink went to be with the Lord on Wednesday, June 17, 2020. A son of the late Sam Sink and Ladosca Clay Sink, he was born in Mount Hope, West Virginia. He was married to Jo Ella Nuckols on June 11, 1955, and they recently celebrated 65 years of marriage.

Jack attended the University of West Virginia, where he received a bachelor's degree in chemistry and a master's degree in Rehabilitation Counseling by 1961. Jack joined the faculty at Auburn University as an Assistant Professor while he completed his doctorate degree in 1970. He was promoted to Associate Professor & Director of Rehabilitation and Special Services. In 1973, he accepted an Associate Professor position in Rehabilitation Counseling at the University of Georgia and moved the family to Athens, GA. Jack worked at the University of Georgia until 1991, advancing to Professor and receiving $4.5M in grant funds for research, training, and services over the course of his career.

As a professor, Jack had a true passion for mentoring and helping others. Before retiring from UGA, he established an independent company (Sink & Associates) providing rehabilitation counseling services and individual care plans that helped hundreds of people. Jack will be long remembered for his gentle nature, his kindness to others, and for his contributions to the field of rehabilitation.

A loving husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather who lived for his family, Jack is survived by his wife, Jo Ella Sink; three sons, Merritt Sink (Charlotte, NC), Scott Sink (Birmingham, AL), and Dwayne Sink (Chattanooga, TN); four grandchildren, Christina Smith, Laura Sink, Brittany Chitwood, and Taylor Sink; great-grandson Ian Thomas Smith; two sister-in-laws, Pat Sink and Sue Wilson; two daughter-in-laws, Anne Sink and Linda Sink; and two grandson-in-laws, Tyler Smith and Paul Chitwood.

Jack loved the Lord and was a member of the Tuckston United Methodist Church in Athens, GA for 47 years, where he established a Sunday School class in 1976 that is still very active today. Jack also enjoyed traveling, golf, UGA football, and singing.

A celebration of life service honoring Jack M. Sink will be held at Tuckston United Methodist Church in Athens, GA later in the summer of 2020.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to be made in memory of Jack to Orange Grove Center, 615 Derby Street, Chattanooga, TN 37404.

Lord & Stephens East, Athens, GA is in charge of arrangements. Online condolences may be offered at www.lordandstephens.com.