Jack Saunders

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Biography

Jack McLeod Saunders was born on 01 Apr 1921 in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, United States and died on 22 November 1981 ^{[1] [2]} in Westminster, London, England, ^[3] from leukemia, at the age of 60 years and 9 months old. ^[4] His ashes are buried in Cook-Walden Memorial Hill Cemetery in Austin, Travis, Texas, United States. ^[5] He was survived by his wife, children and grandchild. His wife died 27 years later in Ohio in 2008. ^[6]

Jack was the the son of Erwin William Saunders (1893-abt 1964) & Helen Mary Catherine Alford (1884-1974). He was an only child and was raised in Ypsilanti, Washtenaw, Michigan, United States. The family lived for years in the family home at 231 N Summit Street in Ypsilanti, near the Ypsilanti Water Tower. The home was sold after Jack's mother's death in 1974 but had housed the Saunders family for four generations. The surviving family thought the home had been torn down after it was sold, but found out more than 40 years later that not only was it still standing, it was being beautifully restored by new owners. The nexus for the discovery of this information was none other than WikiTree: the person working on the restoration came across Jack's profile at the site while researching the property and contacted the Profile Mgr for possible information about the house and the family that had lived there over a hundred years. It was a delightful encounter for the family because the house played a key part in family history and was much loved; pictures are posted in WikiTree freepages.

Jack went to primary and secondary school in Ypsilanti and appears by name in the 1930 and 1940 Ypsilanti censuses. ^{[7] [8]} He graduated in geology in 1949 (B.S. & M.S.) from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, Washtenaw, Michigan, United States. He played college football while there. ^[4] His Master's dissertation was presented in 1948. ^[9]

Jack served in the Navy as a bombardier in WWII in the Pacific. He enlisted in 1943 and was discharged in 1946. ^[10] Muster papers were located for him ^[11] with a muster date of 1944 on the USS Windham Bay. ^[12]

Jack married Dorothy Janis Simmons (1926-2008). They were married in two ceremonies, the first, in 1946, in Steuben, Indiana, United States, ^[13] and the second in 1947, in Ann Arbor, Washtenaw, Michigan, United States. ^[14] Only the first ceremony has been included in Wikitree. The marriage ended with Jack's death in 1981.

Jack was a member of the American Geological Institute and was registered as such in December 1953 in the United States National Register of Scientific and Technical Personnel Files. ^[15] He worked for Continental Oil Company for some 30 years. He was Exploration Manager and Vice President in several Conoco offices around the world: USA (Utah, Colorado, Texas, Louisiana), Australia, Iran, Norway, Libya, England. ^[4] Despite a highly successful career, when Jack was young, he actually wanted to become a geography teacher.

Dorothy and Jack had three children, two girls (b. 1951 and 1959) and a boy (b. 1956). They adopted a forth son (b. ca. 1967) around 1970-1971. They had one granddaughter, born to their first daughter (1976). ^[4]

Jack enjoyed working with his hands and was an excellent carpenter and gardener. He was never a member of any political party but always voted Republican in national elections. Like his father, he was a Mason. He was a great reader and an avid crossword puzzle solver. He loved words and had an amazing vocabulary. He had a keen and wry sense of humor and was known for his wit. When he was around 9, he had a bulldog he adored. Jack and his wife both played tennis, golf and water-skied, although they participated less and less in athletic activities as they grew older. They both played bridge and other card games well (Jack was considered a good poker player), although neither one particularly enjoyed these activities and stopped them with time. Jack was an excellent shot but stopped hunting deer because he felt that with the shooting equipment available, there was not much sport to it. While in Texas, he continued to go duck hunting, but eventually stopped that as well, although he would occasionally go floundering off the coast. ^[4]

Jack appeared by name in the following censuses:

Apr 1930 Jack McLeod Saunders appeared in the 1930 Census, 14-15 April 1930 in Ypsilanti, Washtenaw, Michigan, United States, "Jack M Saunders", 9 yrs., born in Michigan, no occupation, with his father "Erwin W Saunders", 36 yrs, born in Ohio, Photogtapher, his mother "Helen A Saunders", 34 yrs, born in Michigan, Bookkeeper for a Photographer, his grandmother "Sarah B Saunders", 69 yrs, born in Michigan, no occupation, and his aunt, "Flora S Jones", 39 yrs, born in Michigan, Reporter for a Newspaper. ^[7] Note: his aunt was Flora Ball, not Flora S, and she was born in Nebraska.

Apr 1940 Jack McLeod Saunders appeared in the 1940 Census, 19 April 1940 in Ypsilanti, Washtenaw, Michigan, United States, "Jack Saunders", 19 yrs., born in Michigan, attending the University of Michigan, with his father "Ervin Saunders", 45 yrs, born in Ohio, Photographer, own studio, and his mother "Helen Saunders", 39 yrs, born in Michigan. ^[8] Note: Erwin and Helen would have been 47 and 46 years old respectively in the year 1940.

Sources

1. ↑ _ Social Security Death Index (SSDI): Jack M Saunders in Nov 1981
2. ↑ _ Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File: Jack M Saunders on 22 Nov 1981
3. ↑ _ Death Registration: Jack M Saunders 4Q 1981
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4} firsthand knowledge
5. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #42117392 Jack Saunders in 1981
6. ↑ _ Social Security Death Index (SSDI): Dorothy J Simmons on 06 Jul 2008
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} _ 1930 Census at Ypsilanti, Washtenaw, Michigan, United States
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1} _ 1940 census at Ypsilanti, Washtenaw, Michigan, United States
9. ↑ _ Jack M Saunders' Master's Thesis
10. ↑ _ Jack M Saunders WW II
11. ↑ _ Muster roll USS Windham Bay
12. ↑ _ USS Windham Bay
13. ↑ _ MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE: Jack M Saunders and Dorothy Janis Simmons on 27 Jun 1946
14. ↑ _ MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE: Jack M Saunders and Dorothy Janis Simmons on 05 Apr 1947
15. ↑ _ American Geological Institute

Find a Grave Entries in this Biography

1. Jack McLeod Saunders: Find A Grave: Memorial #42117392