Obituary

Funeral services for longtime community leader Jack Skaggs, 86, are pending with Lemons Funeral Home. Mr. Skaggs died at 7 a.m. today, Jan. 21, 1997, in Methodist Hospital Plainview.

John Edward Skaggs was born Nov. 27, 1910 in Gainesville. His parents, the late Henry Ellison Skaggs Jr. and Frances Lenora Lemons Skaggs, built the Skaggs Building, a downtown landmark, at Seventh and Broadway. He graduated from Plainview High School in 1925, from Wayland in 1929 and from the University of Texas in 1931. He volunteered for the U.S. Army in 1942 and served until 1946, achieving the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Air Force. He was a finance officer in the 54th Service Group in India for two years. He was in the investments business, was part owner and manager of the Skaggs Building and other property from 1928-76 and was a director of the City National Bank from 1957-82. He married Maxine Caddel on June 22, 1931 in Amarillo. She died in Plainview in 1967.

His civic accomplishments in Plainview included:
?Member of the Plainview school board from 1949-51 including the building committee for the present high school building which opened in 1952.
?Member of the Wayland board of trustees from 1971-80; former president of the Association of Former Students, and former member of the Wayland Board of Development Executive Committee.
?Former president of the Canadian River Municipal Water Authority on which he served from 1973-1992.
?Served as a director of the Plainview Industrial Foundation for 19 years.
?Past president of the Plainview Country Club.
?President of the Board of City Development before resigning to join the Army.
?Past director of the United Fund.
?Past director of the Chamber of Commerce.
?Past chairman of the Downtown Improvement Committee.
?Former chairman of the Special Gifts Committee of the Hale County Heart Association.
?Former member of the Central Plains Hospital Development Council.
?Former member of the Salvation Army Advisory Board.
?In 1996, he received an award for his long service to Kiwanis International (he was a 60-year member) and was a life member of the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

In 1994 he received the Citizens Service Award from the Chamber of Commerce for longtime service to the community.

He had been a member of First Baptist Church since October of 1924; served on a number of committees, including the Centennial Committee marking the church?s 100th anniversary in 1990, and was a longtime Sunday school officer, serving as president of the Men?s Bible Class for 14 years.

Surviving are two sons, John Skaggs of Plainview and Mike Skaggs of Phoenix, Ariz.; and six grandchildren, Randolph and Edward Skaggs, both of Houston; Sandra Lampkin of Seale, Ala., Deborah Ontiveros of Aiken, Mary Skaggs of Los Angeles, Calif. and Skye Skaggs of Phoenix, Ariz. and six great-grandchildren.

(Printed in the Plainview Herald)