Jack Burdick Stowers of Holladay died on May 4, 2023, at the VA Hospital in Salt Lake City. He was born on October 18, 1924, and raised in West Virginia. He married Rita Boren and had five children. He is predeceased by his wife of 64 years; his daughter, Kathleen; his two sons, Scott and Jonathan; and his sister, Marian Burdick Lotts. He is survived by two daughters, Suzanne Ruskievicz of Murray and Judy Siddoway of Kaysville, and his sister, Jean Burdick Miller of Shallotte, North Carolina. Grandpa Jack will also be remembered by his 11 grandchildren, 24 great-grandchildren, and 3 great-great-grandchildren.
He excelled on French horn in his youth. When he attended the University of Utah he performed in the Symphonic Band there and in the fledgling Utah Symphony. Later he enjoyed his association in the Letter Carrier Bands in several states.
Jack enlisted in the U.S. Signal Corps in October of 1942 and served until June of 1948, receiving a Battlefield Commission as a lieutenant that year. He was called up to active duty in the Air Force in 1950 and retired in April of 1965 as a major.
He raised his family in the era of road trips. Between his many transfers and visits to state and national parks, they spent many hours singing to pass the time in the car and camping along the way. After 5 years of study, Jack earned his certified licensed underwriter designation while working for Lincoln National Life Insurance Company.
Jack was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Jack and Rita served four missions together: Ventura, California; Nauvoo, Illinois; Busan, Korea; and performing in the Hill Cumorah Pageant.
He was proud of his West Virginia heritage, and was happy to tell anyone he met all about it, or anything else that was on his mind. He was always ready with a joke or story, perhaps best illustrated by the effectiveness report he received when he was a lieutenant. It followed him through his years of service and was repeated many times. “Lt. Stowers has a jovial personality and adds to the effectiveness of the corp. Lt. Stowers doesn’t always do things correctly but he can be depended on to be doing something.”
His funeral will be on Tuesday, May 9, 2023, at 11:00 AM at the Cottonwood 4th Ward, 5565 S Neighbor Lane, Holladay, UT. A viewing will be held from 9:30 AM-10:45 AM. Interment will take place at Memorial Holladay Cemetery, 4900 S Memory Lane, Holladay, UT.
The funeral service will be livestreamed via Zoom and may be joined by clicking the "Watch Services" button above or at the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86045343182. You must have a Zoom account and be logged in to join the livestream.
I have many fun and happy memories of Uncle Jack. It was always fun when his family came back to Salt Lake and I could see my cousins. I appreciate his kindness to my parents in their later years. I wish you, Suzanne and Judy, comfort at this time and happy memories of a great man.
We will miss Jack at senior center a lot. He was the greatest ,his stories were the greatest. Prayers are sent to the family. He will be remember for ever,
