Obituary: Spring, Jack Russell
As a devoted family man who loved baseball and led a life of faith, Jack was a beloved husband, father, grandfather, team- mate, educator, coach, and friend to many.
He will be dearly missed.
Jack was born in Spokane on March 11, 1933 to Marguerite and Ralph Spring.
While a student at Lewis & Clark High School, he met his future wife, Vona, after accidentally striking her on the head with a canoe paddle on Liberty Lake.
They were married at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, where they were lifelong members, and recently celebrated their 63rd anniversary.
As a gifted athlete with a strong left arm, Jack’s baseball talent led him to a successful pitching career in Major League Baseball.
After pitching for the Spokane Indians and advancing through the minors, Jack pitched his prime years as a reliever for the Los Angeles Angels from 1961-63.
After retiring from professional baseball after eight seasons in the majors, Jack completed his teaching degree at Eastern Washington University.
He returned home to teach social studies and served as athletic director at West Valley High School in Spokane, where he enjoyed working with hundreds of young people and coaching baseball for 14 years.
His 1978 team took home the state championship, the only Spokane-area high school team to achieve such a feat.
Jack was inducted into the Inland Northwest Sports Hall of Fame in 2005 and is a member of the Washington Coaches Hall of Fame and Administrators Hall of Fame.
He was deeply touched and grateful when West Valley named its baseball field in his honor in 2014.
Jack will be remembered by those who knew him for his patience, integrity, warmth, kindness and humility.
He was a master storyteller who couldn’t help but laugh at his own jokes.
Jack loved to recount hilarious anecdotes from his days playing ball alongside such greats as Satchel Paige and Yogi Berra, and lived for the game nights of his beloved Zags and Mariners.
After building a cabin on Lake Pend Oreille together with his children in 1989, Jack loved spending summers up at “the lake” with friends and family.
Jack faced Parkinson’s disease with grace, dignity, and his signature sense of humor.
Jack is preceded in death by his grandparents, Orville and Minnie Russell; parents, Ralph and Marguerite Spring; brothers, Jim and Ralph Jr., and aunt and uncle, Elizabeth and Pete Higgins.
He is survived by his wife, Vona Spring; sister, Marlys Weber; children, Vicki and Daryl Brown, Teresa and Jeffery Jordan, John and Janice Spring, Michael Spring, Christopher and Amy Spring, and grandchildren, Mikayla Jordan, Stacie Spring, Christopher Jordan, Taylor Jordan, Brett Spring, Rylie Spring, Madison Spring, and many treasured family members and wonderful friends.
The Spring family would like to thank Jack’s caregivers for their dedicated service and compassion.
A Memorial Service to honor Jack’s life will be held at West Valley High School on Saturday, August 22, 2015 at 11:00 a.m.
Reception to follow at Cataldo Hall at Gonzaga University.
In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Jack Spring Scholarship Fund at West Valley High School.
Please visit www.HennesseyFuneralHomes.com to share your thoughts and memories with our family.