JAGGERS

Jack Donald Jaggers went home to be his Savior on April 16, 2020. He was 82 years old. He is reunited with his faithful wife, Norma, who passed away Christmas Day. Their family takes comfort in this reunion and rejoices in their shared hope of eternal life in Christ.

Jack was born on November 13, 1937, at home on the family farm in Winfield, Texas. He grew up as a family farmhand, riding horses, working cattle, and rising early to milk cows. At Mount Vernon Junior High, in the eighth grade, he met Norma Lawrence, who would be the love of his life and, upon his graduation from Mount Vernon High School in 1956, his wife. They celebrated their 63rd wedding anniversary on November 14, 2019.

After high school, Jack enlisted in the US Air Force, serving at bases in Wyoming, Pennsylvania, Iwo Jima, and San Antonio. Jack and Norma settled in East Texas, where Jack worked as a barber in Atlanta and Mount Pleasant and returned to raising cattle on the family land, recognized in 2017 by the State of Texas as a ‘100- year farm’ – land continuously farmed by one family for more than 100 years. In the early 70’s, he built chicken houses, and he grew chickens as a contract grower for more than thirty years. They raised two daughters, Donna and Lisa.

After the girls graduated from high school, they built a house on the family land. He worked cows, raised chickens, and became an avid golfer, playing with his regular group for nearly three decades. Jack and Norma loved their friends and lived an active social life, enjoying regular dinner plans, bridge groups, couples golf, and hosting friends at their home. Jack was known as a man of integrity and generous spirit. He never said an unkind word about anyone. He was soft-spoken, and he never raised his voice in anger, even to his daughters. He served quietly and behind the scenes at various churches they attended. He and Norma loved and supported the work of The Ranch Ministries, where Jack served as their treasurer and board member for ten years.

He is survived by daughters and sons-in-law Donna and Ken Pilgrim, and Lisa and Mike Schutt; grandchildren David and Treanne Schutt, William and Greta (Pilgrim) Simpson, Derick and Emily (Schutt) Hopkins, Lonnie and Karah Pilgrim, and Jack Schutt; great-grandchildren Callie, Myles, and Reed Schutt, Nora Hopkins, and Thomas and Jack Henry Simpson; sisters-in-law Judy Brown and Louwayne Jaggers; and eight nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his faithful wife, Norma, his parents, Worth and Loretta Jaggers, two brothers, Stanley and Butch Jaggers, two sisters-in-law and a brother-in-law, great-grandson Shiloh Michael Hopkins, and three nephews.

Jack was a faithful husband, a dedicated father to his daughters, and a faithful friend to his sons-in-law.

When Donna and Lisa were teenagers, he bought a boat and spent weekends at local lakes camping and pulling their friends around the lake on water skis. As soon as the girls graduated, he sold the boat. They were shocked that he sold the boat since he loved being on the lake so much. He broke it to them that he never liked the lake, but he made the sacrifice to create a valuable family activity—and a chance to interact with their peers.

Jack Jaggers was a quiet man, well-loved by his family and community. He seemed to know the right thing to do, and he always sought to do it. In his last years, he suffered from memory loss and dementia. Even without fully and consciously understanding all of his surroundings, however, he remained, to the end, the consummate gentleman. He never entered a room before a woman, waiting patiently at the door, even for those who were helping him walk. He often asked, “Am I doing the right thing? Do we all love each other?” To his last breath, he was grateful to those caring for him, humble, sweet of spirit, and kind. This was who he really was.

His family is grateful that he is rejoicing with his Lord and Savior.

Graveside services with immediate family were held at 2:00 PM Monday, April 20, and streamed on Facebook Live. A viewing was available 12:00-6:00 PM, Sunday, April 19 at Bates-Cooper-Sloan Funeral Home. Online registry is available at batescoopersloanfuneralhome.com