Jack Vern Huffman

Jack Vern Huffman, resident of Eastsound, Orcas Island, passed away peacefully at his home on October 3, 2022, at the age of 91.
Jack was born on March 18, 1931, in Larned, Kansas, to parents Vernon and Evelyn Huffman. It is remembered that his first spoken word was "airplane". Jack moved with his parents from Watertown, South Dakota to Talkeetna, Alaska. In the summer of 1940, they moved to Kodiak Alaska but were then evacuated to Seattle, WA when the Japanese bombed Dutch Harbor in the Aleutian Islands. In 1946 Jack's parents applied for a homestead of 40 acres outside Anchorage Alaska, to which they moved in 1948. He was a member of the Alaska Yukon Pioneers of Anchorage High School, and the Anchorage Masonic Center.
In January 1951, Jack began attending the University of Washington, but then enlisted in the Navy the following month, went to boot camp in San Diego, and then attended electronics school at Treasure Island, California. During this time, his future wife, Nancy Simpson, worked for the U.S. Civil Service on Mare Island outside of Vallejo, Calif. She and Jack met in Napa, California. Jack and his future best man, Brian, were out driving in Brian's panel truck looking for his girlfriend, who happened to have Nancy sitting next to her in the car.
Jack and Nancy married April 25, 1953, in Mare Island, California. Newly married, Jack's next Navy assignment was at a Naval Station on Adak, Alaska. With his plane stopping for fuel in Kodiak, Jack asked the commanding officer for a change of assignment to Kodiak, where Nancy joined him in June 1953. Their daughter, Marji Ann Huffman was born June 1954. Discharged from the Navy in 1955, they joined his parents at the homestead, where Jack worked at KENI television as a camera man. Next moving to Napa, California, Jack received an Associate's degree from University of California Berkley and worked at both KEWB and KCBS radio stations.
Accepted into Federal service with the Civil Aviation Administration (CAA, predecessor of FAA), Jack and family moved to Fairbanks, Alaska in July 1960, followed by Anchorage in 1967, and then to Southern California in 1973. A life-long instrument and commercial-rated pilot, Jack owned many airplanes including his beloved Cardinal RG. He was very active in the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), becoming President of Chapter 49 as well as being a technical advisor for many home-built aircraft in the area. Jack served as a mercy flight pilot for many years, providing vital medical transportation for many Orcas Island residents. In 2019, Jack was presented with the FAA's Wright Brothers Master Pilot award, recognizing his outstanding record of safe flight operations continuously for more than 50 years during the course of his aviation career.
Retiring from the FAA in 1986, Jack and Nancy fell in love with the San Juan Islands in 1998 and moved to Orcas Island to build Nancy's second self-designed dream house in 2001. Jack enjoyed many friendships on the Island, especially those involving aviation. Jack was beloved by friends and family as a wonderful storyteller with a great sense of humor and love of life.
Jack is survived by his children: Marji (Phil Plessinger) of Fairbanks, Alaska & Robert (Tracy Mathieu) Huffman of Washington, DC; sister Suzie Smith of Palmer, Alaska; Grandchildren: Steven (Lauren), Eric (Baylee), David, Michael (Joji) Huffman, Amber (Chad Levasseur). Amber Levasseur as Jack would say "favorite" (only) granddaughter, her son and husband, carry on the Huffman tradition of homesteading in Alaska.; great grandchildren: Jackson, Mira, Emilia, Emory, Kash, Kennedy, Riley, Kiley, Faith, Trisha, Jennifer, JR, Natalie and Rylin. Jack was preceded in death by his parents and his beloved wife, Nancy.
Services with Military Honors were held at the Orcas Island Woodlawn Cemetery on October 7, 2022, at 2 p.m. with a reception held at the Huffman family home.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his name to
The Hospice of the Northwest at https://www.hospicenw.org/
or the Orcas Island Mercy Flights https://www.portoforcas.com/mercy/
To share memories of Jack, please visit
https://www.evanschapel.com/obituary/jack-huffman