Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Into the Sunset
My grandfather, Jack Prescott, cowboy, war hero, and gentleman, has emerged from his last battle in victory. Cancer claimed his mortal body on January 12th, but he has been welcomed into his eternal home.

It seems everyone who knew Jack Prescott thought him a remarkable man. They were invariably awed by hearing of his brave deeds in the Pacific during World War II, but were equally if not even more impressed by his sincerity, his kind, gentle nature, and his good humor (which he maintained to the very end). I was very blessed to have this man for a grandfather. He taught me by example that a true man is not some selfish, uncaring "tough guy", but a courteous, humble, generous, kind-hearted gentleman, courageous and cheerful and good. There was nothing "macho" about Jack Prescott, but no one ever doubted that he was a real man. He was the kind of Grandpa that made a boy proud, wanting to follow in his big footsteps. That is something I still and always want to do.

Jack Prescott was born in 1923 in the cattle-raising country of the Kissimmee River valley, land of the Cracker cowboys. He loved the Florida land and had an extensive knowledge of its flora and fauna, a love which I have inherited from him. In 1942 he married Martha, my Grandma, and their marriage lasted an incredible 64 years. Later he joined the U.S. Army and saw action in the Pacific theatre. In the Phillipines, he WQS wounded when a Japanese soldier tossed a grenade into his foxhole. He lost one of his eyes in that explosion. However, even though he was severely injured and temporarily blinded, he and one of his fellows, who found he could not use his arms, worked together (my Grandpa's arms and the other fellow's eyes) to continue to fight. For his service he WQS highly decorated, and received full military honors at his funeral. It made me truly proud to walk beside his flag- draped casket and to see a Korean War veteran and a military honor guard solemnly salute as he passed by. One of the guard played "Taps" as the flag was lifted from his coffin, then slowly, carefully folded and delivered to my Grandma.

Jack Prescott's heroism did not end with his military service, however. After the war, he and my Grandma started a family. To his three daughters, five grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren, as well as to the many others who knew, admired, and loved him, he has left a tremendous legacy in the form of the life he lived and the example he provided. I find that even his death has blessed me, like a sorrowful yet life-giving rain, with a new inspiration to be a good man like he was. It has also left me with the deepened realization, both painful and beautiful, of how much I loved him and how important a part of my life he was.

On January 15th, while the nation observed MLK Day, and shortly after it mourned a farmer president, a small group of people gathered in Riverview, Florida to mourn and to honor another great man. He was not as famous, but in my heart I felt he deserved to be. My Grandpa, in his passing, has left me with a humbling and profound lesson: It is not indeed fame or glory or wealth or worldly success that makes a man great and his life significant. It is the love he gives to those around him and the example of a good life that he leaves them. That is the greatest inheritance I could ask for.

Jack Prescott's body has been returned to the soil of his beloved Florida, and his soul to the God who sent him our way. This humble, heroic man has ridden off into the sunset, and until we meet again, he sure will be missed in these parts.

In loving memory
JACK DEMPSEY PRESCOTT
1923-2007

Steven