Jack Edward Runion

Jack Edward Runion, age 77, passed away at home on Tuesday, September 27th in Garland, TX. A memorial service will be held on Friday, September 30th at 3pm at Axe Memorial United Methodist Church, 1700 W. Kingsley Road, Garland, TX, 75041.

Jack was born in Ft. Wayne, Indiana on October 14, 1933 and grew up the next to youngest of seven children. When Jack was in high school, his family moved to Keithsburg, Illinois, where he met Shirley Willman, his high school sweetheart and future wife. They married on March 8, 1953.

Jack was drafted into the Army in 1954. He did his basic training at Camp Chaffee, Arkansas and was then stationed at Fort Richardson in Alaska for two years. He and Shirley enjoyed their time there, living in a tiny trailer home that sometimes almost disappeared after a heavy snowfall! They were expecting their first child when Jack’s father became very ill. His family asked that he be allowed to come home, so the Army gave him a family leave and then transferred him Fort Knox in Kentucky to finish his tour of duty. Their son John just barely missed being born in Alaska! Instead, he was born in Ft. Wayne, Indiana in 1956.

After Jack was honorably discharged from the Army, he and Shirley moved to Illinois, where they both had family. He worked in Galesburg, Illinois and attended Monmouth College. Their daughter Julia was born in Galesburg in 1960. Around 1962, Jack moved the family to Texas where he had found a good job during a difficult economic time. They settled first in the Casa View area in Dallas and then moved to Garland, where their daughter Jeanette was born in 1965.

Jack truly enjoyed his career in Garland, working for such companies as Intercontinental, LTV Energy Products, and Continental Emsco. While working full-time, Jack took evening classes and earned both his Bachelors and Masters degrees in Business Administration from Southern Methodist University.

After retiring in 1995, Jack spent a lot of his time working on computers and was happy to help friends and family whenever their computers broke down. He was the official family videographer and often got shooed out of the room when trying to record family events. Jack especially enjoyed taking driving trips to Illinois and Indiana, watching old movies, listening to music, and playing cards or dominos. More than anything, Jack loved getting together with family and his close circle of friends to tell stories, laugh, and reminisce about days gone by.

Jack is survived by his wife Shirley Runion and their children: John & Teresa Runion of Emory, Texas; Julia Dickerson of Garland, Texas; and Jeanette Runion of Garland, Texas; 7 grandchildren: Melissa (Brian) Davenport, Michelle Runion, Merideth Runion, Matthew Runion, Amanda (Alan) Sheehy, Cameron Dickerson, and Craig Dickerson; 6 great-grandchildren: Allie, Jakob, Jaxson, & Austin Davenport, Aiden Runion, and Liam Sheehy; and by his sisters: Maxine Davis & Patricia Peterson, both of Ft. Wayne, Indiana, as well as numerous nieces and nephews.

Jack was preceded in death by his parents Ward & Nellie Runion; his brothers Robert & William Runion; and by his sisters Dorothy Archer & Mary Wetzel.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to: Axe Awesome Adults at Axe Memorial UMC (see address above) or KERA Public Media for North Texas at 3000 Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas, TX, 75201 (www.kera.org/donate/).