Jack Lee Hart

Jack Lee Hart, 75, a resident of Kennewick, Washington, formerly of La Grande, Oregon, passed away in Portland, OR on Tuesday, February 17, 2009.

A Graveside service will be held on Friday, February 27, 2009 at 10:00am at IOOF Parklawn Cemetery on Three Mile Road, The Dalles with Asa Jenson Officiating.

A Memorial Service will follow that afternoon at 2pm at the First Christian Church, 1921 S. Olympia St., (corner of 19th and Olympia) Kennewick, WA.

He was born on December 6, 1933, in Spokane, WA, the youngest of three children to Franklin DeForest and Ada Ione Hart. He lived in Spokane until age 6 when the family moved to Odell, OR, in the Hood River Valley. He graduated from Wy'east High School in Hood River May 28, 1952.

He began his college education by attending Eastern Oregon State College in LaGrande, OR, the fall of 1952. His goal was to be a sports writer with a degree in journalism. During that year he made a life changing decision to enter the ministry and transferred to Northwest Christian College in Eugene, OR, in the fall of 1953. During the summers of his college years, he worked on Larch Mountain in the Columbia Gorge on a forest fire lookout tower for the Forest Service. He graduated from Northwest Christian College with a Bachelor of Theology degree on June 4, 1957, and was ordained to the Christian Ministry on June 16 at Valley Christian Church, Hood River, OR. After this he went to Yakima, WA, to be on the staff of First Christian Church as a Youth Pastor for one year. He then went to Enid, OK, to study at The Graduate Seminary at Phillips University for four years, 1958-1962.

After one year of seminary, he came back to the northwest and married Phyllis Ellen Tidwell on June 21, 1959 at the Christian Church in Dufur, OR. Following the wedding he returned to seminary with his bride and finished his studies with a Bachelor of Divinity degree on May 30, 1962. While in seminary, he was student pastor at Lookout Union Church in Lookout, OK. Following his graduation from Seminary, he served churches in Helena, MT, 1962-1973; La Grande, OR, 1973-1988; and Kennewick, WA, 1988 until his retirement in 1999. In 2000 he went back to his first church in Helena, MT as an interim minister for a short time.

He was an avid sports fan. Basketball, baseball, and football were his favorites. In his high school days, he wrote a sports column for the local Hood River newspaper. He also found a great deal of joy in camping, hiking, and backpacking, especially in the Wallowa Mountains in Oregon and in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Area in Montana. In retirement, writing was of great interest and a passion. He wrote a number of articles that were published in the daily devotional guide, "The Secret Place."

Jack is survived by his wife, Phyllis of Kennewick, WA; his daughters; Lorri Aldridge and her husband, Darin of Damascus, OR, and Sherri Seymour and her husband Christopher of Snohomish, WA; his brother, Gordon Hart and his wife, Dolores of Klamath Falls, OR; his brothers-in-law, Ted Tidwell and his wife, Dolores, Dennis Tidwell and his wife, Deanna, Bill Tidwell and his wife Louise; and his sister-in-law, Christine Sullivan and fiance' Jim Angel; his nieces, Carly and her husband, Tom Hennecke, Mindy and her husband Gordy Lilly, Suzi and her husband Matt Beddoe, and Jill Mitchell; his nephew, Dane Bowen; his four grandchildren, along with other relatives and many special friends.

In lieu of flowers contributions may be made to Memorial Funds for scholarships or for work with youth at any of the churches Jack served: First Christian Church Helena, La Grande, or Kennewick; or a charity of your choice.

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