Jack William Colby

Passed away  due to natural causes at his home in Fairfax  County, Virginia, on June 2, 2020.

Jack is survived by his children, Charles (Robin), Thomas (Leslie), James and Melissa (Michael Kemp);  nine grandchildren, Kristina (Ken Woodland), Elizabeth (Johnnie Abel), Matthew (Carmel), Luke (Laura), Hannah (Joshua Hodge), Erin (Loren Larson), Jordan Kemp (Nicole) and Zachariah Kemp (Rebecca); eleven great grandchildren, Zoe, Colby, Lydia, Kate, Liam, Rhys, Lois, Anna, Jack, Jude and Talia.  He is preceded in death by his wife of 72 years, Elouise Glenna (Moylan), his parents, Charles and Mary Janette (Ott), sister, Ann and his first grandchild, Brian Colby.

Jack was born on August 15, 1924 in Washington, D.C. He attended Washington and Lee High School in Arlington, Virginia where he was distinguished serving as Commandant of the Cadet Corp and has resided at his present address in Fairfax County, Virginia since 1950. 

After graduating from High School in 1942, Jack worked for five months with the C&P Telephone Company.  In December, 1942 he enlisted in the Marine Corp where he served in the Communications Corp until the end of the war when he was Honorably Discharged in November, 1945.  Jack’s 4th Marine Division unit campaigned in the Pacific Theater of the war seeing action in the battles of Roi & Namur, Saipan, Tinian and Iwo Jima.  Jack’s war experience was a defining influence upon his life, and, while he was reluctant to speak of combat, he imparted to those interested many strategic details of those battles and in particular, Iwo Jima, one of the bloodiest battles in Marine Corp history.  The war experience created a patriotic awe and reverence impacting the rest of his long life.  Jack remained a “Marine” as a member of the 4th Marine Division Association from its inception after WWII until it’s formal Deactivation Ceremony on September 15, 2015, informally known as it’s “Final Muster”.  Jack was an active participant in the Deactivation Ceremony at the Marine Corp Base Camp Lejeune, NC.  In 2015, Jack was moved enormously by his participation in the 70th Anniversary Ceremony of the Battle of Iwo Jima held during a return trip to Iwo Jima, Saipan and Tinian.  Through his active participation in the 4th Marine Division Association, Jack was able to honor his many lost comrades and joy in an ongoing association with his Service friends.

Jack and Elouise married soon after the war ended and began raising a family.  He was an honorable, dedicated and caring man and father who found great joy in his family being passionately devoted to them and sacrificing, significantly, providing for them.  He continued employment with C&P Telephone Company until his retirement in 1981. He and Elouise enjoyed returning to her beloved Pennsylvania mountains along with the family throughout their lives.  He was always enthralled with deer hunting there and returned annually for 72 consecutive years, often accompanied by Charles and Tom in Potter County, PA’s Pleasant Valley Township. 

After he retired, Jack reignited his love of motorcycles by travelling extensively on three different motorcycles over the years, two of which were Honda Gold Wings.  Jack joined and has remained an avid member of Chapter A of the Gold Wing Road Riders Association in Northern Virginia and for a long time was their oldest riding member.  In his retirement years Jack logged almost 300,000 motorcycle miles travelling with close friends to every State in the continental US and many of the Provinces in Canada, collecting stamps from National Park locations everywhere they went.  Jack made his final motorcycle ride in the fall of 2017 at the age of 93.  His Gold Wing, to this day, remains on a charger in the garage at the ready just in case he could go again!

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the family plans to inter Jack at Quantico National Cemetery, Quantico, Virginia on August 20, 2020. If circumstances allow, the Family intends to invite friends for a Remembrance Reception, including a Military Honors presentation for Jack at the burial site on that date. Should you wish to be notified of this Remembrance timetable, please send your contact email address and telephone number to cwcolby71@gmail.com including “Jack Colby” in the email “Subject” line.  You can click on the cwcolby email address in this Everly-Wheatley obituary to send an e-mail to the family.

In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made to a charity that supports an issue closest to your heart.

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