Myrtle Sophia Jack

Myrtle died peacefully in Sumner, Washington, at the age of 101.  She was born on December 16, 1923, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, in Mrs. Harvey’s Nursing Home.  Her parents were Walter and Catherine (Weir) Baxter.  She was predeceased by husband Robert, by her parents, and by her sister Eleanor Baxter. 

Myrtle started school at Caledonia, a one-room country school in Lougheed, Alberta, with Catherine as her teacher. She graduated from Grade 12 at Crescent Heights HS, in Calgary, Alberta. She graduated from the University of Alberta, Edmonton, with a BA and a B Ed. She then worked as a high school teacher at Delia, Gleichen, Notikewin, and Stony Plain, all in Alberta.  She was an instructor at the Dept. of Education’s Correspondence School Branch in Edmonton. Later, she was a teacher at the American School in Buenos Aires, Argentina. 

Myrtle’s lifelong interests included her 50-year membership in the American Association of University Women, volunteering as a Sunday School teacher, as a Girl Scout leader (in Argentina), traveling with her husband Bob, and a lifelong interest in family history.  She also worked with Bob for many years, maintaining and running their apartment rental business in Edmonds, WA.  In her spare time, she also enjoyed sewing and gardening, and writing to a large number of relatives and friends, throughout her life.

Myrtle married Robert Jack in 1949, after originally being introduced by his mother, Annie Sampson Jack, while Myrtle boarded with the Jacks (Annie and George) while teaching. Myrtle and Bob celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary in 2019.  They had two children, Allison and Lawrence (Berna Lopez Jack) and five grandchildren, including Lynn Jack MacBradaigh (Ireland), Ruth Jack Orton (Eric) and Spencer Jack (Kayla), Emily Hannan and Christine Hannan Eisenmenger (Conner). There were also seven great-grandchildren, including Madelyn MacBradaigh, Brynn Orton, Elyssa Orton, Serena Jack, Sebella Jack, Slater Jack and Harper Jack. Myrtle and Bob were very involved with their family throughout their lives, including many activities with their grandchildren.  Myrtle will be greatly missed. Myrtle and Bob made many trips back to see family in Canada, and especially enjoyed driving trips including to Tuktoyaktuk, above the Arctic Circle in the NWT, and their trip to New Zealand, both of which included visits to family, and entries to Myrtle’s ever-expanding family tree.  The family will treasure for many years the family records Myrtle has left behind.  There are still two surviving first cousins out of an original group of ten. 

Robert’s work took the family to a variety of locations.  They started their married life in Edmonton, AB, where Lawrence was born, and from there moved to Regina, SK, where Allison was born.  From there they moved to southern California, living for two years in the city of La Habra.  Next they transferred to Oahu, in Hawaii, where they lived for seven years in Kailua, near Honolulu, and from there to Buenos Aires, Argentina for two years.  The last transfer returned them to Northern California, in the Oakland area.  The family did a great deal of white-water kayaking and rafting, hiking and camping, both with tents and with trailers, in many places in California. Both Lawrence and Allison graduated from University of California campuses. Myrtle was always known for her energetic and kind nature, sociable and very interested in all the people around her.  Myrtle saw the early automobiles grow into international road networks, connecting farms to cities and beyond, and appreciated all the progress made over those decades of her life