Jack Jennings

Graveside services will be at 9:00 A.M. on Tuesday, September 27, 2011 at Dreamland Cemetery. Jack Neil Jennings, the youngest child of Worth Alston Jennings, Sr. and Eddie Johnson Vansant Jennings, was born on December 14, 1918 in Canyon, Randall County, Texas. Jack"s father, Worth Alston Jennings, Sr., was an XIT cowboy in 1895, 1896 and 1898; Sheriff of Randall County from 1911-1920; and County Judge from 1920-1924. Jack"s mother, Eddie, was the youngest child of James Madison Vansant and Susan Jane Foster Vansant. Eddie and her family arrived in Canyon in 1894 by covered wagon from Ben Franklin, Texas. Jack"s maternal grandparents, James and Susan Vansant, owned the Victoria Hotel in Canyon from 1894 to 1899. Jack"s identity also came from his family and a sense of place. Except for the years he was in the Army and two years in Tulia, he lived in Canyon. Jack and Ruby Guthrie Jennings met at Ruby"s 6th birthday party. They were high school sweethearts, graduating from Canyon High School in 1936. They attended West Texas State College briefly, Jack majoring in business administration, and Ruby in fine arts. Their marriage on April 30, 1938 was described by Canyon"s newspaper as uniting two pioneer families. They celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary on April 30, 2008. In 1940 Jennings began work at the Amarillo National Bank. Jack was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1942, training at Camp Hood, Texas. In 1944 he was assigned to the Golden Lion 106th Infantry Division. He qualified as expert with the Carbine M-1 Cal.30 and marksman with rifle. By 1943 he had attained the rank of Master Sergeant. Jennings was among the infantry in the 422nd Regiment who were cut off and surrounded by German troops in the Battle of the Bulge (Ardennes Offensive). Without ammunition and food, the 422nd and 423rd regiments inside German lines delayed the Germans in the early stages of the battle from exploding in a complete German victory. Jack was among the 4,700 infantry captured during the Battle of the Bulge. He was a Prisoner of War in the Nazi Camp, Stalag IX-B, also known as Bad Orb, and at Ziegenhein, POW camps charged with inhumane treatment; many slowly starved to death. By the time Allied forces reached the camp, its captives were too weak to greet their liberators. Jack was starving and his feet were frozen when he was liberated on March 30, 1945. He was awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star. A year from his liberation date, Jack, and his brother Worth Alston Jennings, Jr. opened Jennings Men"s Store in Canyon, the same day that Jack and Ruby"s only child, Jan, was born. Jack and Worth sold the store in 1949. Jack partnered with Herman Lee Whitworth, operating the J-Lee Department Store in Tulia, Texas, from 1950 to 1951. Back in Canyon in 1952, Jack and Ruby opened Jennings" women"s clothing store located at 1609 4th Avenue. In January 1957 they moved the store to 1505 4th Avenue. Jennings" remained a fixture on the north side of the courthouse square until June 15, 1975 when Jack and Ruby sold the store and retired. He devoted twenty-six years of community service to the Canyon Volunteer Fire Department, serving eleven years as Fire Chief (1965-1976). He joined the Department in 1952, and was elected Secretary that year and for the next four years. From 1959 to 1970 he was appointed Fire Marshal. Jennings worked tirelessly to bring the fire department up to date with equipment and fire rescue techniques; under his leadership the department acquired its first snorkel to fight fires at West Texas State University"s dormitories. In 1968, 1969, 1970 the Canyon Volunteer Fire Department received awards from the National Fire Protection Association as one of the four best fire prevention programs in the state of Texas. Jennings retired from the Fire Department in 1976. Jennings was the first World War II veteran to become Post Co