Dillard, Jack Howard  

Jack Howard Dillard, beloved father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and faithful 
servant of his Lord Jehovah God, died June 4, 2006, after along battle with cancer. 
He was born September 4, 1931, in Galveston, the third and youngest of three 
children born to Lillie and Grover Dillard, and grew up in Texarkana. Jack Dillard 
was baptized and became a minister of Jehovah's Witnesses on December 24, 1950, and 
later that month, married Helen Joyce Hawthorn. They moved to Longview where they 
were members of the first congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses in Longview. He went 
to work for the Longview News-Journal in 1955, from which he retired in 1993. Upon 
retirement, he spent most of his time in the field ministry work, spreading the 
good news of the Kingdom of God and in his duties as an elder of the congregation. 
He was known by all as a very kind, loving and honest man, a true Christian. His 
greatest joy was telling people about the Bible and God's promises of a new heaven 
and a new earth. He left this life with a prayer of thanks on his lips and a sure 
knowledge of the resurrection. He was preceded in death by his first and only love, 
Joyce; their daughter, Sarah Peden; and his brother, James. He is survived by his 
daughters, Lida Smith and husband, Gary, of Salisaw, Oklahoma, Jan Shannon and 
husband, Rick, of Austin, and Linda Newman of Longview; grandchildren, Jennifer 
Harrison of Salisaw, Oklahoma, Erika Brumble and husband, Kip, of Hallsville, 
Jaclyn Underwood of Hallsville, Clint and Grant Peden of Texarkana, Arkansas, and 
Dale Newman of Oak Harbor, Washington; great-grandchildren, Michael and Kayla
Chambers of Diana, and Keith Allen of Salisaw, Oklahoma; his sister, Elizabeth 
Stokes and her husband, John, of Nederland, Colorado; his sisters-in-law, Evelyn 
Dillard and Brenda Rochelle of Texarkana; brother-in-law, Dean Hawthorn of 
Texarkana; as well as 12 nieces and nephews. He will be greatly missed by his family 
and his many friends in the Eastman Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses. Services 
will be held 6 p.m. Wednesday, June 7, 2006, at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's 
Witnesses, 2120 Alpine Road. Burial will follow in the Hallsville Cemetery on Willow 
Drive. Pallbearers will be Paul Armbruster, Geoffrey Draper, Mike Headrick, Robert 
Jackson, Randy Marsh, Bruce Rucker, and Robert Zabokrtsky. The family gives very 
special thanks to all the LifeCare Hospice employees, especially nurse Sue Perkins 
and patient aide Sandra Epps, who bring a tremendous amount of kindness and love to 
their work. Visitation was held 7-9 p.m. Tuesday evening, June 6, 2006, at the 
Lakeview Funeral Home. For those unable to attend, online condolences may be made at 
www.mem.com.

Published in the Longview News-Journal on 6/6/2006.