30 Oct 1938 – 13 Apr 2004
2nd-Great-Grandson of Philip Cardon and Martha Marie Tourn
Great-Grandson of Louis Philippe Cardon and Susette Stalé
Grandson of Louis Paul Cardon and Edith Jemima Done
Son of Lucy Cardon and Ramond W. Lamoreaux
Dr. Jack Wayne Lamoreaux was born on October 30, 1938, in Mesa, Arizona, and passed away on April 13, 2004, in American Fork, at the age of 65. He married Cherie Southwick, in 1958; later divorced; and, married Eileen Bradford, in 1981; later divorced, in 2002.
He attended BYU and got his PhD in Mathematics from the University of Utah. He was a professor at BYU for over 35 years, loving every day of his job. He had an unreal passion for knowledge and was always involved in new research with his colleagues at BYU.
He was an avid outdoorsman, loving hunting, fishing, camping, and scuba diving. He loved shooting and reloading, painting, spending time with his family and friends, and reading, always having a book in his hand.
He is survived by his father, Raymond (Carol) Lamoreaux; daughters: Jane (Russell) Fox; Mary (Jerry) Duncan; Susette (Nikki) Pino; Elisa (Pat) Martinez; Krystle Lamoreaux; and a son, Ray Lamoreaux; step-children: Scott (Lisa) Bradford; Allyson (Darrin) Richardson; 18 grandchildren; 4 great-grandchildren; his siblings: Carolyn (Drake) Markle; Tom (Paula) Lamoreaux; Beverly (Bennie) Hall; Pamela (Rick) Thompson; James (Margo) Lamoreaux; and Allison (Neil) Hargrave. Preceded in death by his mother, Lucy; a brother, William; and a sister, Suzanne Lamoreaux.
He was a father, grandfather, great-grandfather, son, brother, and loving friend who will be missed dearly for the rest of our lives.
Funeral services were held Monday, April 19, 2004, at 11 a.m., in the Lehi 1st Ward Chapel, 200 S. 200 West. Family and friends may called Sunday evening from 6-8 p.m. at the Wing Mortuary, 118 E. Main, Lehi; and Monday, at the church, one hour prior to services. Interment, American Fork City Cemetery.
Life Sketch
Running shoes, Beard, Baby Blue leisure suit
by James Paul Lamoreaux
Jack Wayne Lamoreaux was born on October 30, 1938.
He passed from this life on April 13, 2004, at the age of 65.
In between was a life that was extremely full.
He was born to Raymond W and Lucy Cardon Lamoreaux in Mesa Arizona. He had one older brother that passed away just before his 1st birthday.
Jack did not start exactly as you would hope the script should be written. He did not take any breaths at birth and the doctor remarked to the nurse to leave the baby and save the mother as there was no hope for him. Thank goodness for another nurse that worked on Jack. Mother heard that cry and felt life was worth living. I often thought it was good for him to be oxygen deprived-just imagine his intellect if he had not lost a few brain cells.
He grew up in Gila Bend and Mesa Arizona. He attended Elementary and Junior High School in Mesa. He was joined by three sisters and one brother: Lucy Suzanne, Carolyn, Thomas Cardon, Beverly, and Pamela Jean. The family moved to Salt Lake City for a short time and then to American Fork. One brother and one sister were born in Utah: myself and Allyson.
Jack shouldered tremendous responsibility being the sibling leader of this family. Dad bought land where they farmed raspberries, peas, cucumbers, pears, apples, peaches, and apricots. They also had a cow, geese and many pigs. Dad also owned a gas station in American Fork and cottages in Salt Lake. He took responsibilities in all these. Mother wrote in a letter: I guess this is the busiest time of the year. We are just in the middle of planting our crops and have such long irrigation turns. Raymond averages about 4 or 5
hours of sleep a night – with his work. And Jack had 3 ½ hrs. night before last and the same last night because he has been irrigating. I just hope he can keep up his schoolwork, & his missionary work. He is taking a course they are giving the missionaries every weeknight from 7:30 until about 10:00 P.M. and then on Sat. they have the one contact they are visiting.
They farmed 8 acres of raspberries, 7 acres of peas and tended acres of fruit trees. They had 40 pigs. He worked at the pea vinery. And good ol’ Jesebel let her milk down for only Dad or Jack.
He found time to be a stake missionary, take the missionary courses, and memorize scriptures while driving the three wheeled tractor. He played football, took hard courses, got suspended for figuring out how to make chemicals explode in the chemistry lab. He belonged to ROTC in high school and even taught Tom how to drive at age 8 and sent him down the AF high school road in the huge dump truck to take out a utility pole. He, of course followed in the family station wagon with mother-all unknown to her. That one cost dad $125 for the replacement of the pole. He and his cousins who came up to work from Arizona taught Tom a lot of other choice things but we will refrain from mentioning those here.
He did all this with little sleep and managed to keep up a 4.0 GP A except that semester of D’s when he started pursuing a certain beautiful girl from Lehi. Maybe it had something to do with the private line he payed to have installed so he could call her at 2:00 am. At a reunion years later when asked who the most intelligent person from High School was, a classmate answered Jack Lamoreaux.
Jack was very driven and very intelligent. He graduated from BYU with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics. He then received his Masters and PhD in mathematics with a specialty in Topology at the University of Utah. He taught for one year at the University in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He then interviewed and accepted a position to teach at B Y U. He has taught and terrorized students there since that time except for a year sabbatical that he spent researching in Austin, Texas.
I digress for one brief moment to give you insight into his teaching philosophies. I was asked by a missionary in Brazil if I knew Jack. When I informed him that he was my brother, he responded that Jack was the only professor that truly taught him to think. His teaching consisted of making you work through the answer but never simply giving the answer outright. When I was at B Y U, I was required to take Calculus. I signed up for a class that fit with my schedule. When he found out that I took a calculus class for pre-professionals, he expressed disgust and disappointment that I did not take the hard-core calculus class. He said, “I thought you came to learn, not to get by!” I explained that it was the only course that fit with my work and classes. He told me that I knew a professor well enough that I could sign up for his class but never come and he would help me on the side. After studying feverishly (I had to impress him) for nearly two weeks, I gave up. I asked Jack: “Just what exactly is a differential?” He gave me that look and turned to a paper and wrote something mathematical and asked: “what is that?” I gave him an incredulous look and said, “I don’t know.” Again, I got the look, and he wrote something else and asked: “what is that?” Exasperated I said, “Jack, that is why I am here, for you to tell me!” Silence, –that look, and patiently he wrote something else and asked, “what is that?” I don’t recall how many steps he backtracked until I gave up and then he worked back up to a differential. I knew I needed help, so I rearranged everything and went to his class. I ended up with the second high in the class only because I couldn’t work through a particular problem on the final exam. He had taught well because as soon as I walked out into the sunshine the problem became crystal clear. He never gave tests that make you regurgitate memorized information. He tested your understanding. Of course, true to form, at a family gathering six months later, he told me that I didn’t deserve the A that he gave me. Of course, his kids said he couldn’t do simple addition or subtraction.
Jack married Cherie Marie Southwick in October 1958.
They had five children: Jane Cherie, Mary Christine, Susette Marie, Ray Jack and Elisa Ann.
He later married Eileen Bradford in June 1981. He became stepfather to two children Allyson and Scott Bradford. Jack and Eileen added Krystle in 1982.
Your and my memories of this man have been many and greatly varied. As his younger brothers and sisters, we remember with fondness going to his house for sleepovers. We also remember his incessant teasing, monster impersonations to make us scream, tickling until we cried, and of course the thumping on our sternum.
He tried to take you and us with him on crazy and fun adventures. Many accompanied him on his favorite past time of Shooting. He hunted nearly every animal on this continent but truly enjoyed marksmanship. We watched in amazement as he learned to reload shells, tie his own flies, make his own canoe, make his own water skies to ski the canals in Highland, Utah behind a truck, tan his own leather, make varied leather goods including woven reins, develop his own film and print his photographs, paint with water color and oil, make goat cheese, act in numerous films including Legacy and The testament. By the way, he told me that his part as the thief on the cross was just simple type casting.
Mother just knew that he would die from eating a poisonous mushroom in his years of mushroom hunting. She did not appreciate in the least the afternoon he went into the nearby field and came back to cook the grasshoppers in her kitchen. He tried chocolate covered ants and even ate the mold on cheese until he learned that it did not give the same benefit as penicillin. We ate dandelions, stinging nettle, deer liver and onions, but Rick said the porcupine he threw into the pot ruined the rabbit and potatoes.
He went on numerous scuba diving adventures. He explored the underwater world in many places in Mexico, California, Hawaii, and even lakes here– Lake Powell, Fish Lake, and Yuba Lake. I still wonder if the 6-foot carp in Deer Creek are real or just a fish story.
He was extremely strong. He lifted weights and of course played handball for years at competitive levels. He learned about horses, boating and even wildflowers. He loved to eat more than anyone I know, and I believe he has tried more diverse foods than anyone here. All the time staying under 150 lbs. He was extremely well read and his library of 100’s of books attest to his breadth of knowledge. The amazing thing is that he could have an intelligent conversation about any one of those books in his vast library.
He did not simply shoot; he could figure out the trajectory of the bullet and adjust with amazing accuracy. He didn’t just fish, he looked to see what the fish were eating and fished then with a fly that was similar or tied his own fly. He could fix any car troubles, even if he did not want to, fix a tractor fuel pump even after 4 diesel mechanics said the pump needed to be replaced. In fact, he made many things instead of buying them. He built his own house. He even learned to communicate in Spanish without any formal training.
My personal favorite thing about Jack was to watch his heart soften over the past several years. There were hours after family get togethers where he would stay and visit, the desire to share with the family- histories and old photographs, hours playing with my kids and his grandkids in the water at Lake Powell, teaching watercolor to my young kids on the back of the houseboat and making them feel their efforts were worthy of framing. I loved the stories of time he spent with his own grandkids, especially helping them through hard times-that is why I think Josh should be up here to paint the man he became. He spent hours driving and talking, camping and hunting, taught Grandkids how to play chess, and allowed them to jump over him on the couches. He played Xbox and helped with math and other homework.
I can only imagine the love he received in the Saviors arms as he crossed through the veil on that memorable night of the start of his new mission.
American Fork Cemetery, American Fork, Ut, Plot D-61-2 (40.39043, -111.798935)
