John "Jack" Thomas Warmath Jr

John T. (Jack) Warmath, Jr. died peacefully at home after a “battle royale” with pancreatic cancer. Jack was born on June 11, 1929 in Louisville, Kentucky, the oldest son of the late Daysie Lee Tinsley and J.T. Warmath, Sr. In 1936 he moved with his family to Greensboro, N.C.

Jack attended Greensboro Public Schools, graduated cum laude from the Darlington School in Rome, Georgia in 1947, and received an AB degree from Duke University in 1951 where he was an active member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity. In 1955 he received a MBA Degree from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Between Duke and Wharton, he was on active duty with the U.S. Navy where he served as an Ensign aboard the USS Kula Gulf and a LTJG aboard the USS Midway during the Korean War.

He married Sarah Blythe Dew of Jacksonville, Florida in 1957 and they have four children, seven grandchildren, and four great grandchildren.

Jack was a member of First Presbyterian Church where he was a former Deacon, an Elder, and a member of the Young Men’s Bible Class.

His entire business career of 38 years was spent with the Jefferson-Pilot Corporation. At retirement in 1993, he was Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer and a member of the Board of Directors. He was active in industry affairs serving as Chairman of the Board of Regents, Investment Section, American Council of Life Insurance. He was on the Board of Directors of Nations Bank of North Carolina, now Bank of America, where he served as chairman of the Trust Committee, and he was an early member of the North Carolina Society of Financial Analysts.

Jack earned an Eagle Scout award, which began a life of service to his community. His civic activities included: President/Campaign Chairman for the United Way of Greater Greensboro, President and Board Chair of Junior Achievement, Trustee of Moses Cone Hospital, Trustee of the Tannenbaum-Sternberger Foundation, and Board Member of the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro. He also provided longtime service to the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center, and was a member of the Kiwanis Club of Greensboro and the Greensboro Country Club. He had a love of Greensboro and a zest for many facets of this community.

Jack always had an interest in education. Jack and Sarah were a founding family of the Greensboro Day School, and he served as the first treasurer and third Board Chairman of GDS. He was a Trustee of St. Andrews College and a member of the Board of Visitors of Guilford College, Darlington School, and Duke’s Fuqua School of Business. This commitment to education extended to the arts. He and his wife, Sarah, have participated in many aspects of the Greensboro Arts scene, most notably the Weatherspoon Art Gallery, the Eastern Music Festival, and the United Arts Council/Arts Greensboro.

To know Jack was to know an exuberant competitor, and that started as a teenager on the tennis court. He played on the Darlington School tennis team, was the North Carolina State Junior Singles Champion at 18, and played three years of varsity tennis at Duke followed by competing in US Navy leagues and championships. He won a number of Greensboro City, Greensboro Country Club, and sectional and regional titles, and more recently won several State Senior Doubles Championships. He served several terms as President of the Greensboro Tennis Association and was a board member of the North Carolina Tennis Association and the North Carolina Tennis Foundation. In 1984, Jack was inducted into the North Carolina Tennis Hall of Fame having won seven North Carolina Men’s Doubles Championships with three different partners. This life-long zeal for tennis is best highlighted in the 65-year devotion and loyalty Jack shared with his Darlington tennis partners and competitors – they have met almost every year to this day for tennis, fun, and camaraderie.

Jack was curious about all peoples and places of the world. Jack and Sarah have skied, cycled, hiked, and traveled the seven continents with their family and friends in the FSHTC. Open and amiable, Jack was happiest skiing the powder in the Rockies or Alps; following ALL Duke sports with enthusiastic glee (the 2013 record-breaking football season has been a special delight); exploring historic sites and battlefields, and following the exploits and adventures of his children, grandchildren, and extended family. It was a long, fulfilling life marked by generosity and grace.

Jack is survived by his wife of 56 years, Sarah Dew Warmath; brother Bill Warmath of Greensboro (Ann); son, Lex Warmath of Charlotte (Dru Scott); daughter, Sallie Warmath of Salt Lake City (Ray Tohinaka); son John Warmath of Baltimore (Louise McBride); son, Tim Warmath of London, England: seven grandchildren, four great grandchildren, and many nieces, nephews, and grand-nieces and nephews. His sister, Dale Clymer, predeceased him in death.

The family would like to thank all the doctors, nurses, radiologists, and staff at the Cone Cancer Center at Wesley Long; Hospice and Palliative Care of Greensboro; and 1st Choice Homecare nursing assistants, most especially Ashley and Bridget.

Memorials may be made to The Healing Garden, c/o Cone Health Office of Fund Development, 1200 N. Elm Street, Greensboro, N.C. 27401; the Eastern Music Festival, P.O. Box 22026, Greensboro, N.C. 27420; the Weatherspoon Art Museum, P.O. Box 26170, Greensboro, N.C. 27402, or the charity of your choice.

A memorial service and reception in celebration of Jack’s life will be held at 2:00 P.M. on Monday, December 30, 2013 at The Linda Sloan Center for the Arts at Greensboro Day School, 1501 Lawndale Drive, Greensboro, North Carolina.

On line condolences may be made at www.haneslineberryfuneralhomes.com.