Lt. Col. John B. Garber, Jr. USAF (Ret.)

John Brooke “Jack” Garber, Jr., went to be with the Lord on February 14th, 2026, after a sudden illness. Jack is remembered as a wonderful, caring, and thoughtful, husband, father, brother, grandfather, and uncle. He is survived by his wife, Jan; his sister, Margaret; his son John and wife, Rebecca; his son Joshua and wife, Tamra; and his grandchildren, John, Madeline, Sarah, Abigail, and Elizabeth.

He was born on February 27th, 1946, to Dorothy Deacon Garber and John Brooke Garber in Westfield, New Jersey. Jack is junior to his lovely sister, Margaret Philp. His mother, a homemaker, doted on him through his youth. His father was a Chemist who worked for the pharmaceutical company, Merck. The Garber men spent their days attending to chores and even building a cabin in the lake country of northwest New Jersey.

Jack graduated from Westfield High School in 1964 and attended Gettysburg College in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where he majored in Economics and was a cadet in the college’s ROTC program. It was in college where he met and fell head over heels for his future wife, Jan. After Jan and Jack graduated, Jack was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Air Force, and they married in June of 1968. Jack stayed head-over-heels for Jan for the rest of his life. He would spend hours on various projects around the house, bringing her small surprises, and enjoying every minute he spent with her.

Jack’s first duty station was at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. The Air Force then sent he and Jan to Italy, where their son John was born. It was in Italy, where Jack, Jan, and John met Ken and Elaine Mays, their daughter Robin, and son Weston. Then Lieutenant Colonel Mays took Jack under his wing, mentoring the young officer and becoming a life-long friend, family, actually!

Jack, Jan, and John then moved to Ohio, where their son Joshua was born. Jack’s career in the Air Force took off! What originally was planned to be a short term of service turned into 23 years in uniform. The next duty locations took the family to San Antonio, Texas; Montgomery, Alabama; Denver, Colorado; and Andersen AFB, Guam. Jack retired as a Lieutenant Colonel and the family settled in Schertz, Texas. After taking some well-deserved time off, he enrolled in the Troops-to-Teachers program and became a 6th grade Science and Math teacher at Olympia Elementary School.

Jack and Jan then made a lovely home in Cibolo, Texas, where they enjoyed hosting friends and family, working in the gardens, bird watching, and taking many memorable trips around the country. The house was, and continues to be, filled with music. Jan and Jack sang together in the Gettysburg College Choir, and then later with various church choirs at almost every duty station they were assigned to. John and Josh learned a lot from him: maintaining cars, fixing up a home, and demonstrating what it means to be married to your soulmate.

Though Jack was busy throughout his Air Force career, he always made time for his boys, whether it was supporting them in their various sports, homework, or being an excellent mentor on how the world works. John and Josh remember how their dad would always make time for fun: going to the pool on hot summer days and making time to get down on his hands and knees to drive countless miles across the carpet with Josh and his fleet of toy semi-trucks. Jack will be remembered as a man who made as much time for life as possible – with family at the center.

Jack will be inurned at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio, Texas, on March 26, 2026.

A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, March 28, 2026, at 1:00 p.m., at Porter Loring Mortuary North, in San Antonio, Texas.