Dr. John Rodney "Jack" Eccles

Dr. John Rodney Eccles ("Jack"), age 98, in Durham, North Carolina, at the VA Hospital Heroes Way hospice care unit, heard God call him to his heavenly home in glory on July 14th, 2025. Born February 6, 1927, to Eliza "Sue" and Otto Graham Eccles in Yakima, Washington, Jack was an only child. At age 5 Jack lost his father to a sudden heart attack. Young "Jackie" was cared for by relatives in the Seattle area while his mother worked. His mother later married Harry Nelson and they settled back in Kittitas, Washington. He earned the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America and later entered World War II at the age of 16, serving as a mess boy on the US Army cable layer, Silverado, in Alaska. From there, Jack moved on to become a Petty Officer on the US Victory Ship Douglas, serving in the Pacific War zone as a Merchant Marine radio operator, where he picked up the nickname "Sparks". While serving in the Merchant Marine, Jack began reading a Bible he had stolen from a USO hall in Panama and continued reading after he was discharged and back home until, at age nineteen, he gave his life over to Jesus. Jack loved to say that his new life in Christ provided him with new motivation and a newfound facility for learning, as he had only been socially promoted from high school due to poor grades. He began attending Whitworth College north of Spokane, Washington to train to become a missionary. During school he worked nights as a dispatcher for the Eastern Washington State Patrol in Spokane. At Whitworth, Jack met Gerry Knobel - the girl in the red sweater - and they were married in Latah, Washington.
Upon completing his Bachelor of Arts in 1951, he was turned down by the mission board due to his poor eyesight, stemming from congenital cataracts. This disappointment launched a new path, and Jack enrolled in Western Conservative Baptist Theological Seminary in Portland, Oregon for ministerial training, where he received a Bachelor of Divinity in 1954. During this period, he also worked as Washington State Patrol dispatcher in Vancouver, Washington to make ends meet. Around this time, he started McLoughlin Heights Baptist Church in Vancouver by going door to door with Gerry and new baby Susie, inviting community members to the new church.
From Vancouver, Jack went on to continue pastoring for 67 years at churches from Dayton, Rockford, and Spokane, Washington to Palm Springs, Burbank, Pittsburg, Cupertino, and San Jose, California. Always compelled by a passion for sharing the Gospel of Jesus, Jack would canvas neighborhoods going door to door, start bus ministries, and prepare and deliver evangelical, expository, Biblical preaching. Some of the churches Jack preached at include Palm Springs Baptist, Glenwood Baptist, First Baptist Spokane, Riverview Baptist, Monta Vista Baptist, Santa Teresa Baptist, Bernal Road Baptist, and Sunrise Valley Baptist. While pastoring, Jack also earned a Master of Theology from Talbot Theological Seminary in 1967, a Doctor of Pastoral Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary in 1970, and a Doctor of Theology from the California Graduate School of Theology in 1976.
Jack and Gerry went on to have eight more children together for a total of nine. In addition to pastoring, Jack supported his growing family through a variety of jobs, including teaching high school, (using his lifetime teaching credential he had earned at Whitworth), working as broadcast radio engineer, and serving as an announcer for numerous radio stations, including KCFA Spokane, KDES and KWXY in Palm Springs.
When they celebrated their 70th anniversary, Jack and Gerry were together at Hillcrest Convalescent Center with Jack caring for Gerry, in the late stages of Alzheimer's Disease and unable to take care of herself. This story of their long-time love was shared on the front page of the Wall Street Journal in August of 2020. During the Covid lock down, at the age of 92, Jack started recording and posting new sermons on YouTube (Pastor Jack Eccles / @pastorjackeccles7196) in his continued quest to share the love God has for all of us.
Jack's passion to reach all people for Jesus led him to undertake extensive foreign language study. He would frequently share the gospel with his neighbors in Farsi, Punjabi, Hindi, and Spanish, often over lunch. Jack loved music and played violin, mandolin, and guitar. He enjoyed singing many old Gospel songs like "Keep on the Sunny Side" and "Life is Like a Mountain Railroad". He loved operating ham radio and had QSL cards from contacts he had made all over the world. He would call repeatedly into his microphone, "CQ, CQ, CQ-W7JLG" (JLG = Jack loves Gerry).
In a project that Jack was particularly passionate about, he used his knowledge of languages to help create "Gospel coins," small metal coins with a Bible verse on them, in 60 different languages. He carried these around with him (jingling all the way) and gave them to individuals he crossed paths with as he went about his days. It is fitting that the young man who, with the dignity and respect characteristic of VA employees, transported Jack out of hospice after Jack had breathed his last, remembered and let us know that Jack had given him such a coin years ago, inscribed in his native language.
Pastor Jack led many people to Jesus in his lifetime, and he labored for years, 67 of them as a pastor, to help them grow spiritually. After 98 years, it was time for Jack to hear, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Lord."
Jack is survived by children, Sue House (Rick), Bruce Barnes, the husband of his late daughter Sallie Barnes, Mike Eccles (Cleon), Kathy Martin (Steve), Heidi Woodruff (Mark), Philip Eccles (Marti), Genece McChesney (Gary), Roberta Drewry (David), Charlie Eccles (Anja), 20 grandchildren, and multiple great grandchildren. Jack was pre-deceased by his cherished wife of 71 years, Gerry Eccles. Pastor Jack will be laid to rest in Latah, Washington next to his beloved wife, Gerry.
The family would like to thank the caregivers and staff from the Durham Veterans Administration Healthcare System, in particular the exceptional care he received in the VA Heroes Way hospice center.