Jack Verner Eisaman
April 5, 1926 - February 28, 2012
Obituary
Jack Verner Eisaman was born April 5, 1926 at home in Slickville, Pennsylvania. He had one older sister by 2 years, Jane, who passed away in 2001.
His father, Albert Eisaman, was the superintendent of the Slickville coal mines and as a result they lived in the company “big house” on the hill. He often told stories of those years and although they were during the Depression, Jack always felt well provided for. His mother was the disciplinarian, and he could vividly recall the time when at four he decided her new dress needed “improvement.” He took the scissors and cut the skirt to shreds while it was hanging in the closet. When she found the ruins, the rod was not spared. He ate many a dinner on the cellar steps for one infraction or another.
Jack freely roamed the country side and had many stories to share of the “good old days”. From the dozen doughnuts he ate after the movie while waiting for his mother to pick him up, to the getting out of class to go to an uncle’s farm to buy a cow without his mother’s knowledge, to the time the mule he and a friend were chasing fell through a coal shaft and was left dangling. When his dad wanted to shoot the mule, Jack and his best friend begged for its life and they had to find a crane to hoist the mule out – at great expense. His employment there was not necessarily guaranteed because of his father’s position and may have been very well jeopardized by a mule!
Jack joined the Navy in 1945 and the family learned just recently that when he used to joke that his boat never left the harbor, he actually meant he spent most of his time in the Navy working in the Campbell’s Soup factory!
He attended Kiski Prep school so he could get into college after leaving the Navy. When he was younger, although Jack enjoyed school, it had more to do with the kids and the “experiences” than with the academics.
He married Peggy (Margaret Down) on October 28, 1948, after meeting her on a blind-date. They were married in the Duke University chapel where he was a student in engineering on the GI bill and where Peggy worked in the University Hospital lab. It is here he became a Duke “fan”. Once when asked about what he recalled about the wedding, he distinctly remembered finishing his steak and then Peggy’s. Again, academics were important, but his economics class was a challenge. With Peggy’s help he had an “A” going into the final – he got a “C” for the course.
After graduating, they moved back to Pennsylvania for a few years. Helen and Jack Howard were born in Pittsburg during this time – 1952 and 1954. Jack intended to work in the coal mining industry and even took more college classes at the University of Pittsburg in mining, but his father saw the future and insisted he look for a job outside the hills of Pennsylvania.
So, in 1954, Jack accepted a job with Boeing and the family moved the 3,000 miles across country away from all family and friends. He bought a small house in the Des Moines area and the “rest is history”. Never once did he and Peggy think of moving back to the east coast – even after being “gassed out” of their new home twice, receiving their van of new furniture in pieces because it had had an accident on the trip out, and Peggy contracting polio.
It was then that Jack got on his knees and made his vow to God, “If you spare her life, I will serve you the rest of my life”. So many people make those vows and then when the crisis is over, they move on and forget that promise to God. But, with that vow came the transformation in Jack’s life that you here today have been witness to.
One of the earliest memories Helen has is of her dad having Bible discussions with the Presbyterian minister and teaching Bible classes at John Knox in Des Moines. He and Peggy were later baptized after studying for over a year with their neighbors and friends down the street, the Richter’s. A friendship developed that spanned over 50 years.
As in all his friendships, once you shook his hand, he would remember you, pray for you, and care about what was happening in your life. And, he would share with you what God had done in his life.
Throughout those growing up years, his children would find his Bible on the kitchen table when they came downstairs after he had gone to work. He began his study of God’s Word in those earlier years and began the journey that has helped to shape the lives of his 2 children (Helen and Jack H) , 6 grand-children (Dave, LouAnn, Carrie, Tim, Jackson, and Marie) , and 7 great-grandchildren (Mason, Audrey, Ava, Addi, Talia, Olivia, and Zoe). In word and deed, Jack lived to the best of his ability all that he read in that book of Life.
Boeing sent Jack and the family to live in North Dakota, where they lived from 1962-1965 while he worked on the missile sites throughout the state. His “wanderings” in the prairie were some of his favorite working years. If there was a “detour” or a dirt road available, Jack would take it. It was an adventure. More than once Helen remembers scrunching down in the back seat as they pulled into strange driveways or went down someone’s private road by mistake. Jack would smile, turn around, and find another route. After 3 winters in ND, he decided it was enough and came back to the Seattle area where he continued to work for Boeing, working in safety and ordnance – he really did like blowing things up! – until his retirement in 1991.
In 1970, Jack was diagnosed with rectal/colon cancer, had the surgery that saved his life, and continued his work. He used this physical thorn in the flesh to strengthen his relationship with God and to read, read, read. If you have ever borrowed a book from Jack, you probably found his signature “toilet paper markers” on those important pages he wanted to remember.
Jack always looked at retirement as the opportunity for the “real” work to begin. He held Bible classes with innumerable people over the years. He visited people in the hospital, in prison, and in their homes. He prayed and worked side by side whenever there was any work to be done. He was the one who you could find scrubbing the bathrooms, vacuuming, and getting his hands dirty. For many years you would see his little red truck pulled off in a parking lot where he waited in meditation before meeting someone for a class.
No job was too small for him to do and he always did it well. He was a “worker” and for 11 years was the head gardener on Beverly Ave. after he and Peggy moved in with Chris and Helen, as he always said, “so Peggy and I can take care of them in their old age.” He mowed the lawn there, next door for his “older” neighbor, and for several years would drive over to the “girls’ house” in NE Tacoma where Carrie and 3 friends lived to mow their lawn too. He loved to work in the yard, but he could often be seen simply gazing out at the water, counting boats, and checking whether the ferry was on schedule. His one regret was that he never did get to ride on that tug boat he always wanted to.
Jack knew what it meant to “enjoy the labor of your hands”. He enjoyed who he was with and where he was at the time. You always knew he was “there” and not wishing he was somewhere else. He loved unconditionally – especially the children. Every child he knew was taught how to give bear hugs – noisy ones – growl and all. Jack never expected more from someone than he did from himself. There were never “in-law” children or grand-children, they were equally loved.
His God first and then his family were the joys in his life, and he sacrificed for them all even on the day he went to his reward. As the family gathered on Tuesday, February 28th, and he said, “Good-bye”, he was asked to “make that a longer good-bye” because several of the grandchildren had not yet arrived. He stayed until he saw them all. As his family sang praises, he drew his last breath on the last verse of Amazing Grace. His passing was as beautiful as his life had been and he continues to touch lives.
Jack was once asked in an interview if he could leave a legacy to mankind, what would it be. He answered:
“I would tell them that ‘Attitude determines altitude – this is true in spiritual, professional, and social realms. Be a person of integrity and learn and follow God’s Word in daily endeavors.”
Jack was quite the inspiration and a true man of God. He will be missed, and my heart goes out to the family.
What can I say of Jack, but what an inspiration. Just seeing his big grin made me a better person. He filled my heart with joy and gave me the courage and strength to read the scriptures. He printed out a monthly plan for daily reading just for me. I will sure miss you but I want you to know that the second love of your life, (God first, then Peggy) will be looked after.
You are forever in my heart and thank you for touching my life as you have many, I’m sure.
Have I told you lately?
Jack has been a blessing for many christians in the greater Seattle area. When Jack became a full time elder at the Kent Church of Christ he was absolutely devoted to serving the saints. When he wasn’t helping people, teaching the Word to them or visiting them in the hospital, he was concerned for them and praying for them. I have never seen an elder so dedicated to doing God’s will.
He finished his life here on earth as a champion servant for our Lord and Master and will always remember him for this.
jack was a wonderful man and elder. my prayers and thoughts are with you now and always . he loved you all so much .