This blog is dedicated to my father-in-law. He went home to be with the Lord Sunday September 27th after a long battle with cancer. He is loved very much and will be greatly missed!! If Dr. McPherson has touched your life in any way please leave a comment. Thank-you!!
DR. JACK LESLIE McPHERSON
October 22, 1933 to September 27, 2009
Dr. Jack L. McPherson, longtime Ellensburg resident, died on Sunday, September 27th at the age of 75 after a long battle with colon cancer. He was born on October 22, 1933, in Seattle, WA. We knew “Jack” as an incredibly devoted, loving, and sentimental husband, father and educator. As a prominent area educator and coach, he had a profound impact on students and athletes of all ages.
As a youth, Jack was active in sports, excelling in wrestling and later, tennis. He was a 1951 graduate of R. A. Long High School in Longview, Washington. After high school, Jack attended community college in Longview, then transferred to the University of Washington. He graduated in 1954 with a degree in geography and topography. Following graduation, Jack was drafted into the 6th Infantry Division of the Army.
Jack’s teaching career began in 1959 at Bothell High School and spanned 50 years. In 1960, he began teaching Social Studies at Franklin High School until 1967, where he also coached basketball, baseball, football, track and field. Jack continued his dedication to the field of education by acquiring two master’s degrees; one in special education from Portland State and one in counseling; then he earned a PhD in Vocational Education and School Administration from Washington State University in 1975. He later became an administrator and then a college professor. At Central Washington University, Jack was Department Head and Professor of School Administration. His last position was at Heritage University as Director of Professional Studies in the Education Department. In April, Jack was presented the Heritage University 2009 Professor of the Year Award. As an educator, Jack was known for his exceptional ability to challenge students to excel and his personal contribution to each student’s success.
Jack loved to travel, as you will see in his pictures on Facebook. He was able to bike the hills of England, roam the heathers of Scotland, and walk the Great Wall of China. During his speaking engagement in China, he was recognized as an “Honorary Citizen” of Zebo. Jack also traveled to Taiwan as an honored guest speaker in area universities.
In his role as husband and father to his five children, he was totally committed to providing love, encouragement, support and always available to share his wisdom and concern. Dr. Jack L. McPherson left us an unforgettable legacy of a truly honorable, selfless man; a memory rich with extraordinary relationships and experiences. He is survived by his beloved wife, Joyce McPherson, his son, Sean McPherson, and daughter, Jackie McPherson, all of Ellensburg; daughter, Susan Garvin of Batesville, Indiana; sons, Scott McPherson of Jacksonville, Florida and John McPherson of Poulsbo; his mother, Nora McPherson of Auburn; and his brother, George McPherson of Black Diamond. He is also remembered lovingly by his 11 grandchildren: Jacob, John and Jessica Garvin; Kyle, Shannon, Kristi, and Lindsay McPherson; and Scott, Michael, James, and Emily McPherson.
A memorial service in Jack’s honor will be held at 1:00 Saturday, October 3rd, in Ellensburg at Mercer Creek Church, 1407 North B Street. Donations may be made to the Dr. Jack McPherson Memorial Scholarship Fund for Graduate Students, c/o Heritage University, 3240 Fort Road, Toppenish, WA 98948. For more pictures and comments from family and friends about Jack, go to the Facebook link on this page.
We welcome friends to post memories or thoughts about our Dad, Dr. Jack McPherson. You can click on the Facebook link to the left and view photos on that page by clicking the photo tab.
Thank-you!!
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I will miss you very much Dad!!! You were the BEST father-in-law a girl could have!! Thank-you for raising such a wonderful son!! I Love You!!!
ReplyDeleteDad - You are such a wonderful Dad. Even now, I know you are thinking of me and looking for more ways to bless me. You amaze me. I will never stop thinking of you. Love, John
ReplyDeleteJack - Thank you for being such a great Dad to our son in law John. You have touched our lives through him. You will continue to touch our life through the influence John is and will be on our grand children. Your ripples of influence will continue on for generations to come. Only eternity will reveal how much and how many lives you have influenced for good. We will miss you now but we rest in the knowledge that we will see you again someday to spend all of eternity getting to know you better.
ReplyDeleteI am proud to have known Jack by my association with his son John, and his parents Dick and Nora. On every occasion that I was fortunate enough to meet Jack, he was kind, thoughtful, and a wonderful person to talk with.
ReplyDeleteJack had the incredible fortune to have Dick and Nora McPherson for parents. They taught him kindness, goodness, hard work, and the value of a good education. Jacks children are some of the finest men and women I know. Some I know well and some I do not.
Jack cared about people. He taught right up until 2 weeks prior to his death. He didn't believe in self pity, or sitting and waiting for death. He believed in hope. He engenders trust and hope in others.
I find all of the McPhersons to be a remarkable family. From Great Grandpa Dick who passed 2 years ago, all the way down to my dear young Emily. Intelligent, caring, and loving. This does not happen by accident. Jack instilled these principles in his children and now they have children of their own. His love and his work ethic are now evident in them.
Jack honored his father's love by returning to their native Scotland to bond more closely with the families' roots. As he traveled with his sons, they also felt the deep connection and value their heritage to this day. Jack knew that family was the most important link of all. Now that family remembers him with love and respect.
May the Road Rise to Meet You, Jack.
I have been very proud to have had a brother like Jack. We grew up together on Beacon Hill in Seattle in the 30s and 40s. Later we moved to Longview, WA. where we graduated from high school. We spent one summer working with the Federal Forest Service at Mt. Saint Helens. It was a beautiful place and we enjoyed working together clearing trails and stringing telephone lines. In recent years I had a chance to visit with Jack as he taught classes for Heritage University. It was a pleasure to watch him work with his students. I could tell they admired him as much as I did and I'm sure they made good use of what they learned in his classes. As we were driving together to class locations in Eastern Washington, Jack would play a CD that had his favorite music. Much of it had to do with things that reminded him of his kids. Cruising down the freeway playing this music seemed like just the right thing to do. It was obvious his family was always on his mind. I don't know how other people feel about their brothers but I know mine was a very special person.
ReplyDeleteGeorge mcPherson
Jack's cheerful positive attitude inspired those of us who worked with him. And his students loved him. I remember one semester in which we taught graduate students in the same building at the same time in the Tri-Cities. His students were eating pizza and I caught him on break and commented. It turned out that he always brought pizza the first night of class. That simple gesture represented a wealth of caring hospitality that suffused his work. His students knew he cared about him; that's why they loved him.
ReplyDeleteApanakhi Buckley
After working at Heritage for a couple of years I was given the job as Deparment Head of the Counseling/Psychology program at Heritage and I had my Ipod to keep all my appointments organized. Jack stopped by my office and saw me inputing a meeting into my Ipod...he said, "I have a more sophisticated device than that; you have to see it to believe it." I followed him down to his office where he pulled out the notorious "black book". I furrowed my brow and said, "but that is a day planner...how is that more sophisitcated?" Jack responded...."well, here is the 'on' button" (and he took off the rubber band keeping the "black book" together); "and here are my various reminders" (he pointed to several highlighted dates in his "black book"); "and here is my 'add' button" (he picks up a pencil and writes a meeting in his book); "and here is my 'delete' button" (proceeds to erase the meeting he just wrote in); "and here is how I attach documents" (he writes a comment on a sticky note and puts that inside the "black book"); "and finally here is my 'save' and 'off' button" (Jack closed his 'black book' and put the rubber band around the book). "So" Jack continues..."this is more sophisticated than your Ipod becasue in the end I never have to charge a battery, I never lose a document unless I lose it myself, and best of all the writing in mine is big enough so I can read it without having a headache." (smile)
ReplyDeleteHeidi Hillman
I will miss Jack. He was such a gentleman. "Come on into my office and sit down and talk." He always had time for everyone. A man's name goes before and after him-Jack was a man of integrity. He will be missed.
ReplyDeleteRobin Glaspey
Jack -- one of the very best!
ReplyDeleteWe met during our "student teaching" at Lincoln High School in 1959. Jack had already completed his military service in the Army and I was about to leaave for active duty with the Navy. Jack's humor was always present, especially when we compared notes on the military or our "master teachers." Jack's was a "mystery teacher" that he never saw. Mine was an ex-Marine who never left the scene.
We had occasional contact over the years, especially when he was living on Mercer Island. He later took a "little heat" from me for taking his advanced degree in "Cougar Land." During his tenure at CWU and Heritage College, we had wonderful exchanges. I would be his annual "guest speaker" on the role of school principals, and he would delight in questioning my "legal and criminal" status.
Carol and I had a chance meeting with Jack one evening at an Olympia gas station. After many stories, much laughter and hugs with Carol, we were all on our way. Three days later, we heard a phone message from the police saying we had not paid for the gas! What a wonderful distraction Jack had been, and he never let me forget the amusing incident. (Yes, I soon paid the gas bill and all was well.)
Jack was respected by the many principals across our state and was certainly responsible for encouraging and guiding their training. He supported the proposition that good principals see to it that students have quality teachers every period of the day.
Jack was a tower of strength both personally and professionally. He took great pride in his family and work and will be missed by all of us!
We just heard about Jack's passing -- so sad. Unfortunately Carol and I are unable to be present at Jack's memorial service on Saturday, but our caring thoughts will be with all of you in Jack's family. He loved you so!
In Deepest Sympathy,
Brian Barker
Jack was like a father to me and others in the office at Heritage. He gave freely of his time, love, care, and wisdom. Frequently, I would go into his office to help him prepare letters and documents for his classes. Usually we'd end up talking for a while, he'd tell stories about his life experiences and impart some of the wisdom he'd gathered on me. He was a wonderful, amazing man. I feel truly blessed to have been a part of his life.
ReplyDeleteI love you, Jack, and will remember you always.
SB
Dr. Jack L McPherson was a mentor and friend to me and I will miss him very much. I was fortunate to work with Jack when I was hired as an associate professor at CWU. At that time I was transitioning into university teaching after a long career as an education administrator. Jack was a terrific help to me during my first year as a college professor. He was always available to answer questions and offer advice.
ReplyDeleteMuch of the success I have had teaching at the university level since then I owe to Dr. McPherson. I learned so much from him about teaching adults at the graduate school level and about building a high quality preparation program for school administrators. Because of Jack’s efforts CWU had the largest program in the state of Washington at that time for the preparation of school principals. His professional legacy will live on in the work of the hundreds of school leaders he prepared for the challenges of working in schools. Jack had a strong commitment to his students and I have tried to model that in my own work. I still use much of what I learned from Dr. McPherson in my teaching, scholarship and program administration.
Jack and his family were very generous and welcoming. I was fortunate to get to know them during my brief time at Central and very grateful for their warm hospitality. I left CWU after that year to return to Colorado. Jack and I remained in touch, but not frequently enough. We talked over the phone and emailed each other on occasion. It was always an enjoyable exchange filled with Jack’s wry humor. I never hung up the phone or closed an email from Jack without a smile on my face.
I was greatly saddened to learn about Jack’s passing. I was unaware of his illness. He never mentioned it to me, which is not a surprise and speaks to his character. A former student from CWU sent me an email this week with the notice. I’m sorry I missed the service and a chance to honor Jack among his family and friends.
Please accept my deepest sympathy to all family and friends. We have all sustained a big loss. God bless you Jack.
Al Ramirez
aramirez@uccs.edu
Jack was such a wonderful person that it's difficult for me to put in words just how great he truly was. He started out as simply a co-worker but as time passed and we got to know each other, he became a unique friend to me. He was extremely friendly, trusting and open-minded. Not once did I ever see him angry or frustrated and he was such a breath of fresh air anytime he would stop by to chat. Although he was the Program Chair and I had a position much lower than his, he never made me feel lesser than him. He made me feel that we were on equal footing and I so admired him for that. When I gave birth to my two sons, Jack gave me a card with a small gift inside and I thought that spoke volumes. Those little things meant so much to someone like myself. When I finally resigned from Heritage, he came to my farewell party and I remember him getting up in front of the group and reciting a poem. He actually got very sentimental and teary-eyed as he read the poem and that left such an impression on me because no one at work had shown how much they cared for me as he did that day. He made me feel like he truly cared--that day I also realized he had the gift of caring for others unconditionally. Even though I wasn't working at Heritage, we kept in touch because he was a part of my life. One thing we had in common is that we both loved doughnuts and chocolate. The last time I visited him, I had taken him some chocolate chip cookies I had personally baked for him. I remember how delighted he was as he bit into every chocolate chip cookie. I promised to visit him again but I never got that opportunity which is a regret I still have to this day. I wasn't aware of his illness because if I had known I would have loved to tell him what an awesome person he was and what a positive impact he had on my life. Even though time has passed, I have not forgotten Jack and will always hold him dear in my heart. He is truly missed.
ReplyDelete--Leticia Guzman
Jack was a great person. I was so lucky to have met him at CWU. He never hesitated to give me advice and help whenever I needed. His family was also very generous. I appreciated him so much for all he has done to me during my study at CWU. His care and sense of humor have made my life easier overseas. I will always miss you. You are like a father to me. You are a truly super professor(as I always called him)!!
ReplyDeleteCynthia Mai from Taiwan