Jeff Bagford let us know that his father Jack passed away recently. Jeff gave us permission to share his father’s obituary as a tribute to his life.
Jack Bagford, 86, of Iowa City, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, August 26, 2015 at Oaknoll Retirement Residence. Funeral Services was held at 11 am on Saturday, August 29 at First United Methodist Church, 214 E. Jefferson Street, Iowa City. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to The Jack Bagford Elementary Scholarship Fund, c/o The University of Iowa Foundation, 1 West Park Road, PO Box 4550, Iowa City, IA 52244.
Jack was born on April 1, 1929 in Clarksville, OH, the son of John and Gracie (Day) Bagford. He grew up in and around Clarksville farming, fishing and getting into trouble with his only sibling, his older brother, Larry. Jack earned his B.S. degree from Wilmington College, his M.A. degree from Miami University (Ohio), and his Ph.D. degree from Indiana University. He served as a helicopter mechanic instructor in the Army, which was a perfect fit for an engineering-minded teacher. He started his family when he married Mary Catherine “Katie” Farmer and they had Jack’s two oldest children, Jeff and Becky. Katie passed away, leaving Jack raising two small children while finishing his degree. It was at this time he met Ann Jane McNamara and just a short 4 months later (June 5, 1962), made her his wife. The new family set off for his new job at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, and they never left.
Jack was a beloved professor in the College of Education from 1962 until his retirement in 1991. Professor Bagford served with distinction as an elementary teacher, an elementary principal, a director of student teaching and a college professor. An active member of the International Reading Association, he was founder and president of the Iowa Council International Reading Association. A scholarship was established by a former student in honor of Dr. Bagford.
It is an absolutely impossible task to summarize all of the hobbies he enjoyed over the course of his lifetime. On the very top of his list, you would find: GOLF, fishing, gardening, hunting, horse-shoe pitching, IOWA sports, mushroom hunting, ‘coffee with the boys’, arrowhead hunting, bridge, bird-watching, teaching anyone anything, crossword puzzles and story-telling. Jack was a master at all these things and for the most part (golfing excluded), incredibly humble as well. Even in the last several years, he was able to share story after story and enrich the lives of those he met while at Oaknoll. He was tenderly cared for by so many special people and truly brightened the day of those around him.
Above all else, he was the very happiest when he was with his family. He led the Bagford Bunch on many adventures and shared his talents and love of life with his wife, children and most especially, his grandchildren. He was a ‘one of a kind’ who spent his time on this earth caring for it, learning and teaching for a lifetime and loving his friends and family. Jack is survived by his wife Ann, their son Jeff Bagford, his wife Michelle and children Lisa and Travis of Scottsdale, Az; their daughter Becky Page, her husband Tracy and children Katie, Amy, and Molly of Lubbock, Tx; their daughter Jane McCrill, her husband Mark, and son Thomas of North Andover, Ma; and their daughter, Pamela Page, her husband Roger and children Sarah Dougherty, Megan Dougherty, Garrett, Natalie and Arianna Page of Overland Park, Ks.