Karol Jack

Karol Lorene (Brown) Jack was born February 17, 1935, to Jesse and Ona (Porter) Brown at their home in Cleo Springs, Oklahoma.  She departed this life on January 1, 2022, at the Fairview Fellowship Home.

Karol, along with her sister, Marilyn, and brother, Kenneth, grew up in Cleo where her father was Postmaster; she fondly recalled going with him to meet the mail-carrying train at the edge of town and watching him sort through sacks filled with envelopes and packages.  Karol attended school at Cleo Springs, was well-known for her athletic ability; her classmates claimed her the best in any sport.  Karol graduated from Cleo High School in 1953.  Moving to Enid she attended Enid Business College, sharpening skills that led her to employment in the Garfield County Court House and Humphrey Abstract.

Pursuing her love of sports Karol played on two of Enid’s women’s softball teams, Coca-Cola and Enid Travelers.  Enid Coca-Cola won the 1963 and 1964 state championships, was regional runner-up in 1964, and played in the 1964 National tournament in Orlando, Florida.  Karol was recognized for snagging the hurling pitches from behind home plate.  In 1968 the Enid Travelers opened their season with Karol Brown as catcher and team manager; the following year Karol was named northwest district women’s commissioner for the state’s Amateur Softball Association.

Karol married Rex Jack on February 25, 1971, in the First United Methodist Church of Cleo Springs.  Along with a husband, Karol gained a son, Rex Alan Jack, and a daughter, Pamela Jack Telck.  Soon to follow were grandchildren: Gwen Jack, Tami Telck and Richard Telck.  The couple’s first home was in Imo, Oklahoma; after several years they relocated to the Brown Ranch in Cheyenne Valley.  Rex and Karol began ranching with six head of cattle, a tractor, and a few implements.  They endured droughts, livestock price fluctuations, and crop failures; their “we are sticking with it” attitude despite numerous setbacks kept them on the ranch.

Karol was a member of the First United Methodist Church of Cleo Springs and served as Board chair for many terms; she enjoyed lunch and visited with friends at the Cleo Springs Senior Center; she looked forward to having neighbors stop by her home for coffee.  Karol could repair equipment, operate machinery, herd cattle, build fence, milk cows, and keep farm records with the best of them.  She took joy in watching fish jump in the pond that was near the house, birds come-and-go with the seasons, placing grain out the back door for pet quail, having a full hummingbird feeder, naming the farm horses, dogs, and cats, and having a clean car to drive to church on Sunday.

After Rex passed in 2007 and with health failing Karol left the ranch in 2017 and moved into the Fairview Fellowship Home complex where she made friends with the other residents and all the staff.

Karol is survived by her sister, Marilyn (Larry) Sacket of Cleo Springs; daughter-in-law, Sandye Jack; son-in-law, Bill Telck; grandchildren, Gwen (Derek) Dilts, Tamira Jenlink and Richard Telck; nephews, Alan (Carla) Beckwith, Randy (Sherry) Brown, Gary (Pam) Brown, Samuel (Shelly) Sacket, Bobbie (Carla) Kildow, and Roger (Judith) Kildow; nieces, Sharon Maul, and Kandis Sacket along with extended relatives and a host of friends.

Karol is preceded in death by her husband; parents; brother; son, and daughter.

Service for Karol will be Saturday, January 8, 2022 at 2:00 p.m. at Lanman Funeral Home Chapel in Helena.  Burial will precede the service at 11:30 a.m. at Cleo Springs Cemetery.  www.lanmanmemorials.com  Facebook: Lanman Funeral Home Inc.