Jack Rusty Burrell Cockroft

His friends knew him as Jack but his family called him Rusty. Rusty had a quick wit and a dimpled smile that could win over the toughest of hearts with just a wink or a word. He was charming, handsome, and magnetic. He had a joke for every occasion and a laugh that was truly infectious.

Rusty graduated from Arlington High School where he earned honors as a talented saxophone player. His class marching band performed at the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California on New Year’s Day, 1967.

Musical talent was a God-given gift but it paled in comparison to his artistic talent. At an early age, Jack began to display this gift. His sketches and drawings of the world around him reflected the mark of a natural talent. Without formal training, he managed to move and compel audiences with his artwork. Jack later harnessed this gift when he moved to Houston and began working with builders and architects where he helped to design and draft unique and beautiful homes with features only he could bring to life at the draft table.

Jack began his adult life in Houston where he raised his son, Christopher, and daughter, Chelsea. His children brought him great joy and fulfillment. Jack’s mischievous and silly nature made him a magnet to all children, not just his own. He had an uncanny ability to see things from a child’s perspective. He had a deep desire to be on their level and see things through their eyes. Jack encouraged exploration and discovery with his own kids and his grandchildren. He was quick to get down on the floor with them and share their amazement, showing them all the wondrous things around them. He was always a kid at heart.

After his children were grown, Jack began honing and developing another of his many talents. Rusty grew up watching his father restore, refurbish, and rebuild antiques with a strong focus on antique clocks. After Jack Sr. passed away in 2000, Rusty continued his father’s legacy by scouring estate sales, online sales, flea markets, and open markets in Canton, TX looking for treasures that just needed his loving touch. Rusty was blessed with his father’s mechanical ability and was soon building complete antique clock mechanisms from spare parts. Once the internal mechanisms were complete, Jack showed a gift for woodworking in refurbishing and rebuilding clock cabinets and restoring antique furniture to sell and share.

Rusty will forever live on in the hearts of the family he left behind. His memory, talent, mischief, and antics will be told and retold for generations to come. The world cannot soon forget such a magnetic and engaging soul but our comfort lies in knowing that he is at the right hand of God, watching over those he loved the most.

Jack was preceded in death by his parents, Jack and Annie Laura Cockroft of Arlington, TX and brothers, Steven Cockroft of Grand Prairie, and Kevin Cockroft of Dallas. He is survived by his son, Christopher Cockroft of Boulder, CO; his daughter and her husband, Chelsea and Bill Lester of Houston, TX; two beautiful grandchildren, Caleb Kai and Dakota Rain of Houston; his sister and her husband, Susan and Dr. LeeRoy Kelly of Arlington, TX; his niece and her husband, Laurie and James Bachorek of Fort Worth.

A Memorial Service honoring Jack’s life will be held on Sunday, March 5, 2017 at 2:00pm at Moore Funeral Home in Arlington, TX. Services will be officiated by Dr. Dan Langston.

You are invited to stay and enjoy refreshments following the service.