John ""Jack Wayne Schlatter

Mr. Schlatter was a teacher and lecturer.

Services will be at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 17 at the Connection Church.

Survivors include one brother, George of Los Angeles.

Memorial contributions to Colorado Mesa University for the Jack Schlatter scholarship fund.

Crawford’s rock star Cocker dies

British-born singer, North Fork Valley resident helped children, students through foundation

by Charles Ashby

Monday, December 22, 2014

Legendary blues and rock singer Joe Cocker died on Monday at his home in Crawford. He was 70.

Cocker died after a long battle with small cell lung cancer, Sony Music said in a statement.

Born John Robert Cocker in Sheffield, England, Cocker began his career in the 1960s, becoming well-known in 1968 doing a cover version of the Beatles song “With a Little Help from My Friends.”

He also recorded such popular songs as “The Letter” in 1967 and “You Are So Beautiful” in 1975. He won a Grammy award and an Oscar for, “Up Where We Belong,” a song that he performed with Jennifer Warner that was featured in the movie, “An Officer And A Gentleman,” starring Richard Gere.

“In 2007, he was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) by the Queen of England,” Sony Music said in a statement announcing his death. “His international success as a blues/rock singer began in 1964 and continues to this day. Joe created nearly 40 albums and toured extensively around the globe.”

According to Sony Music, Cocker is survived by his wife, Pam, of Crawford; one brother, Victor of Norfolk, England; one step-daughter, Zoey Schroeder; and two grandchildren, Eva and Simon Schroeder.

Despite his age and his illness, Cocker continued to go on tour and release albums.

In 2012, he released, “Fire it Up — Live,” which featured a singing tour throughout Europe. It was the first live recording of a Joe Cocker concert in 20 years, according to his website, http://www.cocker.com.

Over the course of his career, Cocker sang at Woodstock, held concerns across the world and performed with such well-known artists as Ray Charles, Arlo Guthrie, Richie Havens, Phil Collins and Bob Dylan, to name a few.

Locally, Cocker was active in the Cocker Kids Foundation, helping raise more than $1 million for youth-related programs and children in the North Fork Valley.

The foundation, which continues to operate, also offers scholarships to graduating seniors from Paonia and Hotchkiss high schools, needs-based grants to needy children and cash awards to the most dedicated teachers in the valley. He put on several concerts at the Delta County Fairgrounds in Hotchkiss to benefit the foundation.

In 2010, Cocker was featured in a Daily Sentinel article for his love of growing tomatoes on his Mad Dog Ranch overlooking Crawford on land he and his wife purchased in 1992 but placed on sale last spring.

The ranch is named for a tour and album Cockcer released in 1970, “Mad Dogs & Englishmen.”

“I can walk from the house with the dogs, and it’s blissful,” he said at the time. “I see a lot of people when I’m touring. I love it in here. There’s no one in here at all. I sat in here one day and watched the snow melt.”

The six-bathroom, seven-bedroom home, located at 43405 Cottonwood Creek Road, is for sale for $7 million without furnishings. Otherwise, it’s going for $7.8 million with furnishings and equipment, according to the real estate listing agent, Joshua & Co.

The home is 15,873 square feet and sits on a 243-acre lot. It has views of the West Elks Mountains, and has a pond, two greenhouses, an outdoor horse-riding area and a seven-stall horse barn.

Sony Music said the family planned a private memorial service for the singer, but asked people to send memorial contributions to the Cocker Kids Foundation at P.O. Box 404, Crawford 81415.

John Wayne Schlatter

July 5, 1935 - December 19, 2014

John Wayne Schlatter, Jack to his many friends, passed peacefully from this life on Friday morning, December 19, 2014, in Grand Junction, Colorado after having a second stroke. He was 79 years old.

Jack Schlatter was born on July 5, 1935, in East Aurora, New York to George and Miriam Schlatter. He had three older brothers, Robert, George and Allan.

When Jack was young, the family moved to Webster Groves, Missouri where Jack and his brothers went to school and grew up, which Jack remembered as an idyllic home town. Later, the family moved to Southern California where Jack attended Manual Arts High School. He was involved in varsity football there and the drama department. He was elected Student Body President in his senior year. After high school, Jack attended Pepperdine University and was involved in drama productions there. Again, he was elected Pepperdine's Student Body President in his senior year. Jack became an educator and for over 60 years he has dedicated himself to inspiring, motivating and encouraging young people. During this time he produced and directed over 200 complete theatrical productions, coached many championship speech teams, and delivered speeches to hundreds of schools throughout the United States.

Among his credits are school and District Teacher of the year Awards, Kiwanis Teacher of the Year award, The Orange County Superintendents Award for Outstanding Contribution to Education, Three Life Time PTA awards, and Speaker of the Year in 1993 by the Professional Speakers Network. Jack was listed among Who's Who Among Teachers in America.

Jack was a contributor to 'Chicken Soup for the Soul', 'The Magic Pebbles', 'The Simple Gesture' and 'The Finest Steel Gets Sent through the Hottest Furnace'. As an author Jack wrote, 'I am a Teacher' and 'Gifts by the Side of the Road', a compilation of his finest writing.

Jack is survived by his brother, George Schlatter and George's wife, Jolene and his sister-in-law, Mickey Schlatter. He is also survived by his nephew, Jim Schlatter, and his nieces, Debbie Schlatter Lopez, Pam Schlatter Feix, Kim Schlatter Akasaka, Jamie Schlatter Martinez, Maria Schlatter, and Andrea Schlatter Flynn; grand-nephews, Anthony Lopez, Joel Lopez, and Robert Akasaka, and grand-nieces, Alexis Feix, and Kathryn Martinez.

Jack is also survived by countless of Gods Children and he was the 'Uncle' to hundreds of people. Though he never married, he had a huge 'family'.

Jack was predeceased by his father, George Schlatter and his mother, Miriam Schlatter, and older brothers, Robert and Allan.

A Memorial service will be held for Jack on January 17, at 6:00 p.m. at Connection Church, 402 Grand Ave. in Grand Junction, Colorado.

The Jack Schlatter Memorial Scholarship has been established through Mesa State University in Grand Junction, Colorado - Colorado Mesa University Scholarship Foundation, 1450 N 12th St, Grand Junction, CO 81501, Attention: Jack Schlatter Scholarship Fund.

Published in The Daily Sentinel on Jan. 13, 2015

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