Jack Glass, age 94, joined Mary, his beloved wife of 66 years, in heaven on Aug. 26, 2018. Jack was born in Forsythe, Ga., on March 27, 1924. Upon graduation from Griffin High School in Griffin, Georgia, he joined the U.S. Navy. During his training in the Navy Air Station in Memphis, Tennessee, Jack met Mary Cowart – on a blind date and they were married on May 23, 1945 and were a couple for 66 years.
Jack is survived by his two daughters, Jacki Glass Brown of Tuolumne, CA and Nancy Glass of Gaithersburg, MD. There are 10 grandchildren and 24 great-grandchildren scattered throughout the United States. Jack was preceded in death by his wife Mary Cowart Glass and his four siblings. He was uncle to Maxine Lott and Henry Finley and beloved great-uncle to their children.
Jack served his country for his entire career. He began his career in the U.S. Navy during WWII serving on the USS Enterprise CV-6 for most of the Pacific Campaign including the battle of the Marshall Islands, Wake Island, the battle of the Solomons, as well as the battle of Santa Cruz and the battle of Guadalcanal. He was highly decorated including the Distinguished Flying Cross, and the Air Medal with four stars and the Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal with 13 stars. At the conclusion of WWII Jack transferred to the newly established U.S. Air Force and was subsequently stationed in various bases throughout the world. Jack retired from the Air Force in 1961 and began representing the United States with the U.S. Department of State. He was fortunate to be posted in Frankfurt, Germany; Beirut, Lebanon; Budapest, Hungary and finally Buenos Aires, Argentina. He and Mary moved to Tuolumne in 2006 to be closer to family.
Despite the continuous moving and resettling, Jack was an avid sports fan and developed into a reasonably good golfer. He was also a Shriner and volunteered in Memphis as a transporter for burn patients at Shriner Hospitals. Jack was also a deacon at Tuolumne Community Baptist Church where services were held on Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018, at 11 a.m. with full military burial at Carters Cemetery directly following the church service.
Jack was loved and will be so missed, yet his family is happy that he is now reunited with Mary and enjoying the peace of heaven.
Those wishing to make a donation in Jack’s name may do so at the Shriners Hospital in their local areas.
