In 1951 while a sophomore in high school, he met and fell in love with Lovonne Simily. Six years later they eloped to Mississippi. Jack and Trixie, as she was known, were blessed by the addition of daughters Terri and Toni.
He graduated from high school in St. James and then attended, and graduated from, the University of Missouri in Columbia. After college, he was employed in the insurance industry as an investigator until 1978 when he and Trixie went into the convenience-store business. He spent nearly 30 years in that industry, 15 years as owner of Jack’s Delano Service in St. James, and the remainder with Wallis Oil Co. as a store manager. He enjoyed dealing with the public and made hundreds of acquaintances from all over the country. In November of 2005, after more than 48 years of marriage, his wife Trixie died suddenly. After her death, he continued to work part time for Wallis Oil in Bourbon, Rolla, and St. James. The many friends he made in those locations helped him deal with his loss. In the summer of 2006, he renewed a high school friendship with Glenda Branstetter Moreland. They soon learned that their ability to love had not died with their first spouses. So, in 2007 they were married in their home church, St. James Christian Church. After the marriage, he moved to Louisiana where Glenda had been living for over 45 years with her first husband, another high school classmate of theirs, Robert Moreland, who had died just a few weeks before Trixie. Jack and Glenda had both been baptized in the St. James Christian Church and were later members of the Kings Highway Christian Church in Shreveport, LA. They enjoyed each other whether it was traveling, working in the yard, or just being together.
He is survived by his wife, Glenda Davis; daughter, Toni Davis of St. James; daughter, Terri Wells and husband Terry of Osage Beach, MO; daughter, Patricia Jones of Bossier City, LA; son, Kenneth Moreland and wife Kathie of Haughton, LA; grandson, Andy Wells and Kierra Elliott of Osage Beach, MO; grandson, Terry Wells and wife Erin of Rolla, MO; granddaughter, Heather Wells of Kansas City, MO; granddaughter, Melissa Drinkard and husband Jason of Bossier City, LA; great-granddaughter, Bailey Wells; and great-grandson, Jackson Wells of Vichy, MO; great-granddaughters, Journey and Brennen Wells; great-grandson, Benjamin Wells of Osage Beach, MO; and great-granddaughter, Aubrie Drinkard of Bossier City, LA.
Rather than flowers, Jack has indicated a support of the John F. Hodge Scholarship Fund would be more appropriate.
A visitation will be held in Jack’s honor from 2:00 – 4:00 P.M. on Sunday, December 18, 2022, at Hill Crest Memorial Funeral Home.
