Brigadier General Jack Murph Pollin

1922 - 2021

POLLIN, Brigadier General Jack Murph

US Army (Ret.)

passed away peacefully on May 26, 2021, joining his beloved wife, Virginia "Jinnie" C. Pollin in Heaven. General Pollin was born in Lawton, OK on April 26, 1922, the son of a career Army Field Artillery Officer, Colonel George A. Pollin and Thelma Pollin. Jack met Jinnie Copithorne as a senior in high school in Lake Forest, Illinois. Jack graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point on D-Day, June 6, 1944 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in engineering and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Field Artillery. Later that day he and Jinnie were married at Most Holy Trinity Catholic Chapel at West Point, in the most significant day of his life. Jack and Jinnie were married 64 years. After the Field Artillery Officer Basic Course Jack served in World War II in the European Theater as a forward observer and then an intelligence officer in the 42nd Division (Rainbow Division) in occupied Austria across from Soviet forces. He then returned to the US to attend the University of Pennsylvania and obtained a Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering. After his degree, he was assigned to West Point where he taught mathematics to the Corps of Cadets. It was the first of three tours of teaching mathematics at West Point for a total of 23 years. In 1953 Jack served in the Korean War with the 38th Field Artillery Battalion. He returned to the US to obtain a second Master's Degree, this time in Applied Mathematics, from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and then returned to West Point to teach mathematics as an Associate Professor. His next assignment was at Headquarters, US Army Europe and in 1962 he was selected for command of an Honest John Missile Battalion, 3d BN, 79th Field Artillery in Germany. After command, he attended the US Army War College and obtained a third Master's Degree in International Relations from George Washington University. He deployed to Vietnam as part of XXX Corps Artillery and First Field Force, operating near Da Nang and Nha Trang. After returning from Vietnam, General Pollin was selected for a doctoral program at the University of Arizona to earn his PhD in Systems Engineering where he and Jinnie fell in love with Tucson and the Sonoran Desert. He returned to West Point, where he served as Deputy Head and later Head of the Mathematics Department where he instituted the application of mathematics to battlefield operations. General Pollin served the US Army, the Corps of Cadets, and his country, in three wars, with distinction, professionalism, and bravery for 41 years. Upon retiring from the US Army in 1985, General and Mrs. Pollin returned to Tucson. He was an avid golfer and became an accomplished oil painter. He and Jinnie were faithful members of St. Odilia Catholic Community where he was a monthly lector at Sunday Mass. Soldier. Scholar. Hero. General Pollin is survived by his daughter, Mary Beth Spiece (Don); son, John Pollin (Lisa) and grandchildren, Elizabeth Richards, Trey Spiece, Sean Pollin, Laura Pollin, Mary Pollin and great-granddaughter, Emily Pollin. A Memorial Service at St. Odilia Catholic Community is pending. A Mass of the Resurrection at Most Holy Trinity Catholic Chapel at West Point and interment at the West Point Cemetery will take place at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Odilia Catholic Community, 7570 N. Paseo del Norte, Tucson, AZ 85704 and to the West Point Association of Graduates, 698 Mills Rd, West Point, NY 10996, specifying the Mathematics Department's Academic Enhancement Program. Arrangements by ADAIR FUNERAL HOMES, Avalon Chapel.