Jack Helmick Brookhart

Jack Helmick Brookhart took his last trip on Saturday, January 10, 2026. After a lifetime of exploring the world, accumulating over two million airline miles and visiting every continent except one and all 50 states, he passed away surrounded in person and in spirit by people who loved him.

Jack was born in Chanute, Kansas on July 24, 1944 and grew up in that same small town making his mark on the basketball team. His love of basketball took him to the University of Kansas where he graduated in 1966 with a bachelor's degree in Spanish. The Spanish language opened up the world to this small-town boy and a junior year abroad in Madrid introduced him to Judy, his wife of 59 years, and to a career in international business. However, no matter where he was in the world, he never missed KU in March Madness, and many remember his Jayhawk flag flying proudly on Aurora Street.

Jack had a stint in the US Army where he served as lieutenant from 1967-1970. A US veteran during difficult wartime years, Jack also managed to espouse the hippie era values of love and peace while stationed at Fort Ord in the San Francisco area. This ability to understand and get along with people of all kinds became a hallmark of Jack's personality, and until the day he died, he never encountered someone with whom he could not find common ground.

Following an MBA from Thunderbird School of Global Management, Jack and Judy moved to Brussels, Belgium where they cultivated a love for Abba, Brueghel the Elder, and moules frites. They instilled this love of good food, good music, and world travel in their children, Josh and Melissa. But mostly they instilled their love in them. Jack brought his family back to northeast Ohio in 1978 and they put down roots in Hudson, where Jack served on the town's environmental awareness committee for many years, had weekly coffee at Saywells/Hattie's/Open Door, and ran on every street as he trained for marathons including Boston, New York, and Big Sur. He also had a fulsome career in international sales and marketing with Sherwin-Williams, Blue Coral, and Gojo Industries.

Jack will be remembered for falling asleep at dinner parties, ringing in each New Year with epic parties and Rod Stewart, eating ice cream and playing yard games with his children and their friends, and being surprisingly good at Trivial Pursuit. He is preceded in death by his brother John, and sister Elizabeth Jane. He is survived by his wife Judy, his sister Barbara, his two children Josh and Melissa, his children-in-law Cleo and Steven, his six grandchildren Lia, Max, Arial, Ian, Matilda, and Gabriel. And his beloved John Deere.

In lieu of flowers or donations (although we wholeheartedly support the efforts of the wonderful people at Vitalia Stow Memory Care and Traditions Hospice Care), please shake the hand of someone with whom you disagree, ask someone you love how they are, and join us to celebrate the life of Jack Brookhart at Christ Church Episcopal, 21 Aurora St., Hudson on Saturday, February 14, at 11:00AM.

Arrangements by Busch-Romito Funeral Home, Hudson, OH (330-650-4181) www.buschcares.com