John (Jack) Thomas Rowan cut a wide swath through life with that infectious smile, his can-do attitude, his loving heart, and his boundless energy. With his passing, he leaves behind many accomplishments and countless voids in the hearts of his family and friends.
Jack was born into a Catholic family in Arizona in the summer of 1967, the last of nine children. He grew up among the red rocks of Sedona. He attended the University of Arizona, earning a Bachelors of Arts in Education. Subsequently, he taught history and politics at a Catholic high school and coached baseball and basketball. To this day, he remains “Uncle Jack” to his former students.
Inspired by A River Runs Through It, Jack took a Greyhound bus trip north, visiting Yellowstone and Missoula. He found a home in Missoula, where he settled and continued his education, earning a Masters degree in Cultural Anthropology.
While supporting himself through a variety of occupations from carpentry to landscaping, Jack became deeply involved in the Missoula community. He helped found a food coop located in a low income area, served on the board of a wildly successful recycling center for building materials and served on the board of the Missoula Urban Demonstration Project. In 2015 he unsuccessfully campaigned for a seat on the city council, highlighting his interest in affordable housing and public transportation. Jack felt serving on the city council would be a form of ministry; he hoped to be a voice for those who were often ignored.
Jack was a man of many different skills and interests, as his education, jobs and community activities demonstrate. And possibly most crucial, he had a boundless heart, a deep compassion for others, solid integrity, and a gentle sense of humor. These pieces of his life seemed to coalesce when he received a leading to become a hospital chaplain. He had the spiritual grounding and the ability to listen deeply to others to make a fine chaplain. The journey took him to the Earlham School of Religion for three years, an internship in a Spokane hospital, and finally a staff position at a Missoula hospice. He served as “Chaplain Jack” until the final months of his life.
Jack had led a life of spiritual seeking and ultimately found a home in Quakerism. He formally joined the Missoula Friends Meeting in 2005 and served the Meeting in numerous capacities. He was Clerk for two years during the height of the Covid pandemic. He also shared his leadership and organizational skills as a member of the Ministry and Oversight Committee. Jack was a person who was sensitive to the leadings of Spirit and led a life based on the Quaker testimonies. In addition, he was the go-to-man for advice and assistance on meetinghouse maintenance and landscaping.
It must be said that one could always count on Jack…..to be late. This was forgiven with the understanding of his tendencies to put the needs of others ahead of his own physical, emotional and fiscal health …and that he was out there doing something useful for someone else.
Jack was involved in the wider Quaker world and served as Friend in Residence for one gathering of the Montana Gathering of Friends. He was a rock for the Quaker Dudes, a fellowship of men with Montana and Quaker roots. This group has gathered several times a year for decades and Jack will be dearly missed.
Jack began having health issues in the summer of 2022 and lived a mere 5 months after receiving a diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). As his body failed he was faithfully supported by caring family and friends, including the Missoula Friends community. He came to define the quality of his life by his life-long “sense of wonder”. Jack announced he was “closing shop” when that sense of wonder faded and ceased. He died a day later on July 27, 2023, at home surrounded by those who loved him.
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Gracious God, I lay my work to rest,
and in doing so,
lay at your feet.
the faces I have seen,
the voices I have heard,
the words I have spoken,
the hands I have held,
the service I have given,
the joys I have shared,
the sorrows revealed.
~
I lay them at your feet,
and in doing so,
what now would you have me do?
~
Jack Rowan, author