Obit: Albrecht, John Richard "Jack" (1936 - 2023)

Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon
E-mail: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org 

Surnames: Albrecht, Smigelski

----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co., WI) 3/22/2023

Albrecht, John Richard (Jack) (1 May 1936 – 23 February 2023) With Flag

John (Jack) Richard Albrecht died peacefully Feb. 23, 2023, in Burliington, WA. He was born to Richard and Emilie Albrecht in Neillsville, WI, on May 1, 1936. He attended elementary schools there and graduated from Neillsville High School in 1954.

Jack’s childhood dream was to be able to fly airplanes like the models that he made. After attending Stout State College in Wisconsin for two years, Jack was commissioned in the Air Force in 1957 and qualified as a navigator/observer. During his military service, he completed almost 4,000 air hours, over 800 of those hours were in combat arenas. He flew in B-47, B-26, C-123, and KC-135 aircraft.

While in the Air Force, he earned advanced degrees in both aeronautical and mechanical engineering. In 1976, he retired from the Air Force as a Lt. Colonel and shortly after began working for the aerospace company, Martin Marietta (now Lockheed Martin). He served in various locations, including California and Illinois. Jack retired in 1994 and moved with his wife to Washington state.

He is survived by his brother, George (Jeannie) Albrecht of St. Paul, MN, and his sister, Sarah (Eugene) Smigelski of San Jose, CA. He is also survived by four nieces, Susan, Cynthia, Christine and Jennifer. He was preceded in death by his wife, Cynthia, and by his parents.