John Carlton Estes

John Carlton Jack Estes, 87, a native of Longmont, Colorado, passed away of natural causes on June 26, 2017 at his home at the Atria Longmont Assisted Living Facility at the corner of Hover and 9th Avenue, Longmont.Jack was born on November 20, 1929 in Longmont to Carlton Chase Estes and Ethelyn Angeline (Moore) Estes. He worked at his father's shop, The Colorado Creamery, on Main Street in Longmont from 1943 through 1951. He graduated from Longmont High School in 1947 and earned his Bachelor's degree in Architectural Engineering from the University of Colorado, Boulder in 1952. After graduation, Jack was employed by Chance Vought Aircraft Co. in Grand Prairie, Texas, from June through November, 1952, then joined the U.S. Air Force, where he served at the rank of up to Staff Sergeant in the Office of Special Investigations (OSI) in the United States and Korea until September 1956. While in the OSI, he served a stint on the south side of Chicago, where he met and became engaged to Louise Gene Cain, the secretary for executive personnel at Marshall Field & Company. Jack returned to Boulder to work at the National Bureau of Standards from March 1957 through May 1958, taking a break to marry his beloved Genie on June 9, 1957 in Chicago, and moved with her back to Boulder. In June 1958, Jack and Gene moved to Seattle, WA, where Jack took an Engineering job at B ing Airplane Co. On May 29, 1959, Jack and Gene welcomed their first child, Peter J l Estes. Jack decided that Seattle weather was unacceptably damp, however, and quit B ing to take an Engineering position at the fledgling National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) at their Lewis Research Center facility in Cleveland, OH in March 1962. Their second son, Michael John Estes, was born in Fairview, OH, on December 15, 1962. Jack worked at NASA until his retirement in January 1991. North Olmsted, OH and the greater Cleveland area was home for the majority of Jack's working life and is considered the ancestral homeland by his two children.After retiring from NASA, Jack and Gene moved back to Boulder, Colorado. They purchased a home in the King's Ridge neighborhood north of Valmont Road. Jack could then devote the bulk of his time to his favorite hobbies - tennis, reading (primarily history, military history, and biography, with a smattering of historical fiction), passionately following his favorite sports teams (the Rockies and CU football and basketball), and following national and local Boulder politics. He also enjoyed the occasional hiking and camping. Jack and Gene attended First Presbyterian Church in Boulder. Jack organized and managed a seniors' tennis league in Boulder for many years. In 1994, he built a cabin in Allenspark, CO, on the site of his Aunt's old antique store there and used that as a retreat from the fast-paced life of Boulder.In June 2001, his son Michael Mike Estes and his wife Barbara and their three children moved to Longmont. This gave Jack and Gene a great deal of pleasure, since they could watch in real time as their three grandchildren, Kayla, Leanna, and J , grew up, graduated from High School and all from college as well.In 2015, Gene's deteriorating health forced Jack and Gene to sell their Boulder house and move to the Atria Longmont Assisted Living Facility.On May 26, 2017, Gene died after an extended period of poor health (though Gene never lost her good humor, and she was cared for solely by Jack until the final two weeks of her life). Jack tried valiantly to go on without his beloved wife of almost 60 years, but died himself exactly one month after Gene's passing. He couldn't overcome a broken heart.Jack is predeceased by his wife, Gene; his parents, Carlton and Ethelyn; and his younger brother, Bill. He is survived by his sons, Pete and Mike, daughter-in-law Barb, granddaughters Kayla and Leanna, and grandson J . Jack passed away only one week before his first great-grandchild, Nolan Miles, son of Kayla and her husband Nic Miles, was due to be born.Memorial service will be held at 2:00pm Friday, July 7, 2017 at Westview Presbyterian Church with a reception immediately following at the church. Cremation entrusted to Ahlberg Funeral Chapel and Crematory. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Westview Presbyterian Church, 1500 Hover St., Longmont, CO. Visit www.ahlbergfuneralchapel.com to share condolences.