Jack Church's Obituary
Jack Eugene Church,93 of Memphis, Tennessee, formerly of Trumann, Arkansas, passed away Thursday morning, April 26, 2018. Jack Eugene Church was born March 12, 1925, in Trumann, Arkansas, to Elmer Baum Church Sr. and Maude Oberman Church. He was the loving brother to two siblings: the late Evelyn Mays and the late Elmer Baum Church, Jr. He graduated from Trumann High School in 1943, before joining the Navy. As a member of the 27th Naval Construction Batallion “Seabees”, from September 19, 1944 to May 17, 1946, Mr. Church was awarded a Bronze Star for his service – helping to build infrastructure vital to the US Naval campaign in the Southern Pacific in WWII on Okinawa. After his Honorable discharge from the Navy, he attended Arkansas State University. He married his late wife, Mrs. Cora Lee Church (Forbess) (formerly of Trumann, Arkansas), in 1948. He and his wife moved to Memphis, Tennessee where they lived happily for sixty-eight years, until her death in 2016. Mr. Church worked for Singer Sewing Machine Company, Cone Solvents, Inc., and other companies, but was most proud of his work in Real Estate- “flipping” houses and rental properties before it was a trend. Mr. and Mrs. Church had their only child, Jacquelyn Louise Haas (Church) in 1949. Mr. Church was the Grandfather to John Alexander Irvine, Jr. (Jack) and (Allison) Brooks Irvine Winnig, and a great-grandfather to Jack Irvine, Virginia Irvine, Cora Winnig and William Winnig. A loving brother, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and friend, Mr. Jack Eugene Church, known in his family as “Poppie”, touched the lives of everyone he met. A jack of all trades, his grandchildren often joked that he was the original “MacGyver”- he could fix anything with a roll of duct-tape and paperclip. A true Patriarch, he spent his life dedicated to his family. He was a member of Germantown Baptist Church for over fifty years. He loved deeply and was well loved for 93 years. He will live on in our hearts and memories. Visitation will be held Sunday, April 29 from 2:00-2:30 p.m. with the service to follow immediately. All services to be held at Memorial Park Funeral Home.
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