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Note: E ATTENDED JOHN B GORDON ELEMENTARY, SCHOOL AND THEN TECH HIGH SCHOOL. THE SCHOOL HAS BEEN DEMOLISHED BUT IT SAT NEAR PIEDMONT PARK. HE GRADUATED FROM MURPHY HIGH SCHOOL, BEING THE FIRST GRADUATING CLASS AFTER IT BECAME A FULL HIGH SCHOOL. HE WAS DRAFTED AND ENTERED THE ARMY, DURING THE KOREAN CONFLICT, AND SERVED FROM 1951 TO 1952 RISING TO THE RANK OF MASTER SARGEANT. HE SAW ACTION IN THE WAR FOR A YEAR IN KOREA. HE WAS DECORATED FOR BRAVERY ABOVE AND BEYOND THE CALL OF DUTY WHILE IN KOREA. HE WAS DISCHARGED NOVEMBER 13, 1952. HE ATTENDED GA. TECH. HE JOINED THE ATLANTA FIRE DEPARTMENT IN APRIL OF 1954 AND WAS EMPLOYED WITH IT FOR 30 YEARS. HE WAS NEVER LATE FOR WORK OR DID HE MISS ONE DAY DUE TO SICKNESS.. HE WORKED FIRST AT STATION 26, THEN AT STATION #1. HE WAS MOVED AROUND TO VARIOUS STATIONS BUT WOULD ALWAYS RETURN TO #-1. HE CAME UP THRU THE DEPARTMENT TO BE 1ST DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE FIRE BUREAU, THE DIRECTOR WAS THE ONLY OTHER RANK ABOVE HIM WHEN HE RETIRED IN JANUARY 1985. MARCH 1985 HE BECAME THE DIRECTOR-BUREAU FIRE SERVICES-GWINNETT COUNTY AND REMAINED THERE FOR 3 YEARS RETIRING AGAIN IN MARCH 1988. JACK ALWAYS LOVED HIS WORK AND NEVER MINDED WORKING AT HIS PROFESSION. JACK WAS LOYAL, HONEST AND DEDICATED TO HIS WORK AND THE MEN THAT WORKED UNDER HIM. HE WORKED WITHOUT HESITATION FOR BETTER EQUIPMENT, DRESS, WORKING CONDITIONS, TRAINING AND PAY. TRAINING WAS PARAMOUNT FOR JACK AS LIVES DEPENDED ON BEING WELL TRAINED AND EQUIPED. EVERY PERSON THAT WENT IN A BUILDING DEPENDED ON EACH OTHER FOR THEIR SAFETY AND ALL NEEDED TO BE WELL TRAINED AND HAVE KNOWLEDGE OF ALL EQUIPMENT NEEDED TO ACCOMPLISH THEIR JOB. HE DID NOT TOLERATE ANDY FOOLING AROUND ON THE JOB. JACK HAD OTHER OFFICERS THAT TRAINED UNDER HIM TO HEAD OTHER DEPARTMENTS. DEKALB COUNTY,FAYETTEVILLE, COLLEGE PARK, GAINESVILLE, DOUGLASVILLE, ALL IN GEORGIA AND ONE IN THE STATE OF VIRGINIA, AND YES EVEN THE CITY OF ATLANTA. JACK WAS DIAGNOSED WITH COLON CANCER IN 1994. HE SURVIVED THIS OPERATION ONLY TO BE DIAGNOSED WITH ALZHEIMER'S IN THE SAME YEAR 1994. HIS CANCER RETURNED IN HIS CHEST, 1997, AND WAS SUCCESSFULLY TREATED FOR THAT. JACK IS A TALENTED PERSON IN THAT HE CAN ACCOMPLISH MOST ANY TASK IN THE WAY OF REPAIRING, BUILDING, PAINTING, ETC. HE TAUGHT HIS SON TO BE THE SAME WAY AND I EVEN LEARNED ALONG THE WAY. JACK IS GOOD AT EXPRESSING HIS THOUGHTS BOTH IN WORDS AND WRITING. JACK LIKES THINGS TO BE DONE BY THE BOOK AND GETS UPSET WHEN THEY ARE NOT. I OFTEN SAID "THERE ARE (3) WAYS TO DO THINGS-THE RIGHT WAY-THE WRONG WAY-AND JACK'S WAY." NEEDLESS TO SAY HE GOT UPSET QUITE OFTEN AT HOME AS HE WAS NOT ALWAYS IN CHARGE. I WOULD TELL HIM THAT " HE WAS ONLY "CHIEF" AT WORK-AT HOME HE WAS "DADDY AND JACK" AND HAD TO PUT UP WITH THE THREE OF US. JACK IS A DEVOTED GRAND-PA, DADDY, HUSBAND, SON, AND BROTHER. JACK HAD A MOTO "ALWAYS FOR YOU-ALWAYS MY BEST". BELIEVE ME HE REALLY LIVED BY THAT. WHATEVER HE DID IT WAS ALWAYS HIS BEST. JOYCE, DAVID, AND I SURELY GOT HIS BEST AND HE GAVE EVERYBODY AND EVERYTHING ELSE HIS BEST ALSO. ALTHOUGH ALZHEIMER'S ROBBED ALL OF US OF JACK IN HIS LAST YEARS HE NEVER STOPPED TRYING TO BE HIMSELF. HE ACTED AS IF HE JUST TRIED ONE MORE STEP IT WOULD ALL BE OKAY. I NOT ONLY LOVE HIM BUT ADMIRE HIM FOR HIS DETERMINATION AND COURAGE THAT KEEPS HIM GOING WHEN ANY LESSER PERSON WOULD HAVE GIVEN UP. JACK DIED AT 3571 TRAVELERS COURT, LITHONIA GA ON AUGUST 23, 1999. FEB. 2000 THE ABOVE ADDRESS BECAME SNELLVILLE, GA. STILL SAME COUNTY JUST A NEW ZIP CODE. HE WAS AT HOME WHERE SHIRLEY HAD PROMISED HIM THAT HE WOULD BE AND HE FOUGHT TO THE END. JACK BEGAN HIS DOWNWARD SLIDE IN APRIL AND ON AUGUST 23, 1999 HE DIED. AFTER HIS DEATH AN AUTOPSY WAS PERFORMED TO BE SURE OF THE ALZHEIMER DIAGNOSIS AND AT THAT TIME IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT HE ALSO HAD A MALIGNANT TUMOR OF THE CEREBELLUM. THIS WAS A SHOCKING REVELATION FOR ALL OF US AS HE HAD TEST IN FEBRUARY AND IT WAS NOT SEEN THEN. jACK WAS A LIFELONG MEMBER OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH AND WAS A COMMUNICATE. hE WAS BAPTIZED AND CONFIRMED AT ST. TIMOTHY'S WHICH WAS IN KIRKWOOD AT 1951 AND LATER MOVED TO SOUTH DEKALB FLAT SHOALS RD., DEKALB CTY., GA. JACK SERVED ON THE VESTRY OF ST. TIMOTHY'S IN BOTH JR. & SR WARDEN POSITIONS. 1973 HIS MEMBERSHIP WAS TRANSFERRED TO ST. SIMON'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH HWY. 138, ROCKDALE CTY., CONYERS, GA HE WAS MEMBER THERE AT TIME OF DEATH. HUSBAND-SHIRLEY RUTH DERRICK FATHER--JOYCE YVONNE HOLLAND DAVID SWAINE HOLLAND GRANDFATHER-LINDSAY ERIN FUSSELL TAYLOR SWAINE HOLLAND BLAKE ALAN FUSSELL GARRETT DAVID HOLLAND LISTED AS BORN 1998
Note: JACK WAS BORN AND LIVED IN EAST ATLANTA ALL OF HIS LIFE AT 475 PASLEY AVE., SE ATLANTA GA. H
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