Jack Stoops

1941 - 2016

Jack Walter Stoops, Ph.D.

December 4, 1941 -
January 19, 2016

With great sadness, his family announces that Jack W. Stoops passed away on January 19, 2016, after a short battle with lung cancer, complicated by congestive heart failure. Jack was born on December 4, 1941 in Tucson Arizona. He grew up, and up, and up, eventually to become a star on the Amphitheater High School basketball team.

After a short career at the University of Arizona, Jack moved to northern California where he worked for the natural gas company, digging ditches for a couple of years. In 1963, he married Eileen Nye in Red Bluff, CA. He re-enrolled in college that same year, earning a BA at Humboldt State University in 1966. He worked an additional year at Humboldt on a Master's degree. Jack's daughter, Janelle, was born in Eureka, California, in August, 1967.

Jack began his teaching career in Chiloquin, OR, where he taught social studies and PE and coached the basketball team. He left Chiloquin in 1969 and moved to Springfield, OR, to begin a career in insurance sales, and real estate. Jack's son, John, was born in Springfield in March, 1970. In 1974, Jack returned to education as a teacher and coach at McKenzie School District in Blue River, OR.

After Jack and Eileen were divorced, Jack became a full time parent to both children, and, as a trio, they shared many adventures. Their Dad's forays into cooking became legends told by both children for years. In 1977, Jack took a teaching job in Springfield School District and soon after, Jack earned his Master of Arts in Education from the University of Oregon in 1977. Jack married Susan Meikle Stoops in 1978.

Jack continued teaching and coaching at Springfield High School until the fall of 1984, when he became the Language Arts, Reading and Social Studies Coordinator for Springfield School District. In 1987, on sabbatical, Jack entered the Ph.D. program at the University of Oregon. Jack completed his dissertation, "The Role of the Peer Coach/Consultant as Change Agent", in 1990, and took a job as a Research Associate in the Rural Education Program at Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory in Portland, OR. While at the Lab, Jack published ten different studies and provided staff development to educators in five states in the Pacific Northwest. In 1994, Jack became Superintendent at Glendale, OR; and continued his career as a superintendent at Central School District, Independence, OR; at Lincoln County School District, Newport, OR; and at Yamhill Education Service District, McMinnville, OR.

Throughout his life, Jack served the communities in which he lived in a wide variety of ways. He served on the Big Brother Big Sister Board of Lane County, and the Campfire Girls Board of Marion-Polk Counties. In 1983, Jack was elected to the Willamalane Board of Directors in Springfield, OR and served until 1990, including a year and a half as chair. Jack was a member of the International Lions Club for 30 years, and served as District Governor for Multiple District R in 2008--2009. As a Lion, Jack also served on the Oregon Lions Sight and Hearing Foundation Board, and held many different club, District and state positions. Jack began serving on the Board of Directors of Lions VisionGift (Oregon) in 2007, and was the First Vice Chair on the Board at the time of his death. As a person who had glaucoma and other vision difficulties for most of his life, Jack was both intrigued by and devoted to the research in which Lions Vision Gift is engaged.

In 2006, Jack was appointed to the Willamette Education Service District Board of Directors, Salem, OR. He served as chair of this board from 2008?2010, and finished his term of service in 2011.

On November 23, 2015, Jack was officially sworn in as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for children in Polk County, Oregon after completing a ten week course. He was very excited to begin a new type of volunteer work advocating for the best interests of abused and neglected children.

Jack has been described as someone with a "big heart and a larger than life personality", and it was true. His warm smile and generous sense of humor endeared him to everyone he met. He was never happier than when he was cooking at one of his 6 grills on their patio for friends and family, with Susan serving as sous chef! He and Susan enjoyed Oregon football, basketball and track, and especially loved following the football team to out of town games. A few years into their marriage, Susan learned to love golf, and Jack learned to love the opera!! They traveled to Europe and many places in Asia as well as around the United States and enjoyed historical sites, museums and good restaurants.

Jack loved his family very much. He was devastated when his son John passed away suddenly in November, 2014. He and his daughter, Janelle, talked daily and sometimes twice a day, and often compared recipes and dinner menus during their conversations. His family will carry the memories of his love, kindness and zest for life with them always.

Jack is survived by his wife Susan, daughter Janelle and her companion Tom. He also leaves his grandchildren Heidi (Tyrell), Shawn, David (Lisa), and two great grandsons Matthew and Logan. Jack grew up with his cousins Bob (Janice) and Jim (Trudy), and Charlotte, and loved reliving the memories of their adventures together.

Other members of his surviving family include his mother ?in ?law, Jean, his sisters-in-law, Maggie, Martha (Ken), Donna (Jerry), Carla Jean, and brother-in-law Don. He will be greatly missed by his nieces and nephew, Amy (Jed), Katie, Sarah, and Andrew (Lisa). Jack was pleased to meet his new grand-niece (Maeve) on Sunday, January 17th.

Family and Friends will celebrate Jack's life on Sunday, February 21, 2016 from 1 ? 4 p.m. at the Ford Alumni Center at the University of Oregon in Eugene. The family suggests contributions in his memory to Lions VisionGift or CASA of Polk County.

Arrangements entrusted to Musgrove Family Mortuary. Please access the obituary and you are invited to sign the guestbook at musgroves.com