Don and Alva McDiarmid

What a beautiful tribute to a wonderful man. I always thought that his father Walter was one of the great males I had met in my lifetime, but in later years I came to realize that Jack was exactly the same way with the same values and humor and deadly cribbage game.

What a pleasure to have known them both. This of course takes nothing away from Bobby who has many of the same qualities and many of his own, a delightful person.

Congratulations on your beautiful work, a fitting tribute indeed.

Jan Crook Pierson, a.k.a. Calamity Jan

Jack, or "Uncle Jack" as he soon became known to our family, was loved. Just loved. Why? No one probably can answer that with words because "LOVE" and "JACK" are very closely related and both defy words.

He was kind, positive, giving, caring...always, always looking at the other person instead of himself. He was fun, funny, an off-the-beaten-track kind of guy.

Who else sat with my kids (whose eyeballs were falling out of their sockets) on the beach and ate little limpets, RAW? Who else fixed everything in my house that needed fixing--and he did it because he WANTED to do it?

No, "Uncle Jack" just made all sorts of history in the most unusual and wonderful ways. His love, hugs, whimsy and kindness will put the great men and women of noteworthy fame on a back burner--at least when it comes to our family.

I can still remember wondering about this man that my Aunt had married over in Hawaii. I had heard a little bit: He was somewhat older than she was, he managed a sugar cane plantation over there; but I was looking forward to finding out for myself. Maybe I was a little suspicious or skeptical, but all that was dispelled as soon as I met him. He was a great big soft-spoken man with a kind smile, and I soon found out that his heart was as big as his stature.

The first thing he did after meeting me was to take me to the local feed store and have me pick out a show halter for my horse. This was a huge gift to a 12- or 13-year-old who supported her horse habit just with her babysitting pittance. Uncle Jack encouraged me to pick out, not one of the cheaper halters, but an expensive one; I believe it cost $40 back then, which was an unfathomable amount to me! I cherished that beautiful halter and was able to pass it on to my daughter Casey when she led her own horse into the show ring almost 30 years later.

Anyway, he became my Uncle Jack on that day, and has been ever since. I could say so much more about him and could use so many wonderful adjectives to describe him, but I think that if I had to choose just one to describe him best, I think I would say that he that he was truly a fine man; one of the finest that I have ever known. I look forward to meeting him in heaven again one day. (I wonder if he will still want a hand tickle when I get there?) See note from Judy