Jack E. DeWitt

Jack was born June 9, 1932, in Beardstown, IL, the son of Sidney Calvin and Stella Anita Mikesell DeWitt. He married Pauline F. Howe on October 31, 1953, in Beardstown, IL; she preceded him in death on January 20, 2019.

Jack graduated from Beardstown High School in 1950 and earned his bachelor of science in electronics engineering from Indiana Technical College in 1957. He proudly served his country in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War for four years; enlisting on January 1, 1951 in St. Louis, MO. Jack finished up his nine weeks of boot camp in San Diego and then went to a U.S. Naval facility in Alameda, CA. He stayed there a short time before he moved to the Communications building because of his typing skills. After six months of schooling, Jack was moved to a Telemann Class A School in San Diego. He finished his training and was assigned to the U.S.S. Kenneth Whiting AV-14 where he traveled from San Diego to Bremerton, WA. He later traveled to Pearl Harbor and many stops in Japan and the Philippines.

He was employed with General Dynamics in CA and then later for the State of Illinois Department of Transportation until his retirement in traffic safety where he won many awards. Jack loved spending time with his wife and family, anything space or NASA related, watching sports, and going to Disney.

He was also preceded in death by his parents; son-in-law, David Tolbert; sisters, Joyce, Dorothy, Maxine, and Irene; and brothers, Tom and Sid.

Jack is survived by his daughter, Paula Tolbert of Springfield; son, Sam (Wendy Vitolo) DeWitt of East Hampton, NY; and granddaughter, Carrie Tolbert of Springfield.

Cremation was provided by Butler Cremation Tribute Center prior to ceremonies.

Family will host a graveside ceremony at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 12, 2023, at Camp Butler National Cemetery with military honors.

The family is being served by Butler Funeral Home-Springfield, 900 S. 6th St., Springfield, IL.