Lt. Colonel Jack Easton Hembree

Lt. Colonel (ret) Jack E. Hembree of Springfield, Missouri, passed away on August 4th. Jack leaves behind a remarkable legacy of military service, civic engagement, and devotion to civil rights and historic preservation. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him.

Jack was a respected community leader and veteran in Springfield, known for his extensive work with the NAACP, local veterans’ organizations, and historic preservation efforts, including Lincoln Cemetery and the installation of local civil rights markers.

Jack was born to Doris Opal and Tom Bryson Hembree in Stockton, Missouri, on March 24, 1924. He received a degree in Forestry and a Master’s in Counseling at the University of Missouri in Columbia. While at Mizzou, he met Carolyn McCormick, beginning a love story that would span more than 72 years. Following graduation, Jack entered the U.S. Army. Carolyn and their young son joined him in Honolulu, Hawaii, where their second son was born.

Jack served in Korea from 1953 to 1954, and in Vietnam from 1967 to 1968. Throughout his distinguished military career, his family accompanied him on assignments around the world, living in White Sands, New Mexico; Quito, Ecuador; Fort Knox, Kentucky; Worms, Germany; and many other locations. He was awarded the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm and the Legion of Merit, among numerous other honors, before retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1974.

Following his retirement from the Army, Jack and Carolyn continued to travel extensively, living in Tehran, Iran, and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where they formed many lifelong friendships. Jack remained active in Veterans’ organizations throughout his life, including the Vietnam Veterans of America Springfield Chapter and the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Jack and Carolyn shared a lifelong commitment to civil rights and public service. During the 1960s, they helped establish Head Start programs in Alabama and later became deeply involved with the Springfield NAACP, the Springfield-Greene County African-American Heritage Trail, and Lincoln Cemetery. Together, they helped place markers on the previously unmarked graves of two Black men in Hazelwood Cemetery and installed a commemorative plaque in Park Central Square honoring the three Black men lynched there by a mob in 1906. Soil collected from that historic site is now preserved at the Legacy Museum in Montgomery, Alabama.

Jack also devoted many years to civic engagement. He served as Ward 32 Committeeman in Greene County and ran for Auditor in 2010. He remained active in the Greene County Democratic Party until the time of his death.

Jack was preceded in death by his parents; his beloved wife Carolyn; his son, Tom M. Hembree of Springfield; his daughter-in-law, Dr. Kathryn Hembree of Kansas City, Missouri; and his sister, Jeanette Kimes of Humansville, Missouri.

He is survived by his son, Jack II of Napa, California; his daughter-in-law Linda Chipperfield of Atlantic Beach, Florida; his grandchildren Tom C. Hembree of Kansas City, Missouri, Sarah Watson of St. Louis, Missouri, Kathryn Night of New York, New York, Joseph Hembree of Kansas City, Missouri; and six great-grandchildren.

A private service with military honors will be held at Missouri Veterans Cemetery in September.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made in Jack’s honor to organizations that were important to him:

NAACP – Springfield Branch

www.naacpspringfieldmo.org/

Vietnam Veterans of America – Chapter 952

https://www.findhelp.org/provider/vietnam-veterans-of-america---missouri--springfield-mo/6454968101371904?postal=65619