Jack Bryan Stubbs

1921 - 2007

NATCHEZ — Memorial services for Jack Bryan Stubbs, who died peacefully in his home on Monday, June 11, 2007, after a lengthy battle with various illnesses, will be 3 p.m. Sunday, June 24, 2007, at First Presbyterian Church with visitation and reception thereafter.

Memorial services will also be at University Presbyterian Church, in Baton Rouge, at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 23, 2007.

Mr. Stubbs was born Aug. 18, 1921, in Norfolk, Va., and moved with his family to Fayetteville, N.C., when he was 17. In 1943, he graduated from University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill with a B.S. in chemistry after having been selected Phi Beta Kappa. He then moved to Baton Rouge to work for Esso, now Exxon Mobil, first in the chemistry lab and starting about 1950 as one of the earliest computer programmers doing process engineering and business system design. He retired in 1982. Other than a four-year stint with Exxon in Houston 1977-1981, he lived in Baton Rouge all of his adult life until settling in Natchez in 1996. He was steadfastly devoted to his beloved wife, Dorothy “Dottie” Lawrence Stubbs since their marriage Sept. 24, 1946, and it was rare that you saw one without the other during their 60 years together. Jack’s strong Christian faith was reflected in his lifetime dedication to the unselfish service of others. He worked with the Boy Scouts for nearly 40 years serving in essentially every position that nonprofessional scouters can hold. He was inducted into the Order of the Arrow and the Istrouma Area Council awarded him the Silver Beaver. He served on the Camp Fire Girls Board for three years and worked with the organization for more than 15 years, ending many workdays at Camp Ruth Lee preparing for the new camping season. He received the Shanekus Award, the second highest award in Camp Fire. Being active with the International Hospitality Foundation at LSU, he and Dotty were American “parents” to many foreign students. Jack and Dotty were the founders of the Baton Rouge chapter of the Friendship Force, including serving for a time as the local president. He was an accredited visitor with the Mended Hearts Program, first in Houston and then in Baton Rouge, sharing his personal experience with heart surgery with others awaiting surgery, thus, helping allay their fears. He worked vigorously with the Guild Gallery in Baton Rouge and the Baton Rouge Art League for 15 years helping to promote art in the area, and especially supporting local artists. For four years he worked as a volunteer teacher’s aide tutoring students at Buchanan Elementary School in Baton Rouge. He worked tirelessly at many positions in the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A., in Baton Rouge and Natchez. He was Sunday School superintendent for several years and also helped start and served as the first chairman of the University Presbyterian Church Day School. He taught Sunday School at all levels, worked with youth groups, served at Stewpot in Natchez, served as deacon and elder for many years, was on many pastor search committees, published church bulletins and newsletters and traveled on many mission trips to other countries and to storm-ravaged areas in the states. He was a FISH volunteer for more than 10 years, accepting emergency calls all hours of the day to offer help to those with needs ranging from transportation to crisis intervention. He also worked with The Phone, helping those in need of counseling over the phone. He served with The Uniting Campus Ministry at LSU and as a docent for years at the Old State Capitol in Baton Rouge and in Natchez at the Visitors Center and at the Natchez Historic Photographs Gallery welcoming travelers with warm Southern hospitality. For several years he served as the master of ceremonies at the Natchez Historic Pageant. Jack actively participated and often held office in the Institute for Learning in Retirement at Co-Lin in Natchez; the Retiree Partnership, the Historic Natchez Foundation and the Foundation for Historical Louisiana, receiving with Dotty “the Preservationist of the Year” in 1997. Jack cherished his opportunity to be a Paul Harris Fellow with Rotary International in Natchez, as well as his participation with the Men’s Prayer Breakfast, the Coffee Group and the Santa Claus Committee. Jack received the 1983 Volunteer Activist Award in Baton Rouge and the 1999 Unsung Hero Award in Natchez.

Jack was preceded in death by his parents, Olin Leslie Stubbs and Louise Thames Stubbs; his brother, Olin Lesesne Stubbs; and his sisters, Mary Louise James and Dallas T. McGlynn; and one grandson, Jordan Bryan Stubbs.

He is survived by his wife, Dorothy Lawrence Stubbs; their three sons, their wives, ten grandchildren and one great-grandchild, Olin Lawrence Stubbs and Linda Smith Stubbs and their two children, Olin Luke Stubbs and his daughter, Anna Mae Stubbs, and Jack Willis Stubbs of Greensburg, La.; Samuel Eugene Stubbs and wife, Melinda Martin Stubbs, and their four children, Whitney Elizabeth Stubbs, Maxwell Lawrence Stubbs, Charles Martin Stubbs and Andrew Davidson Stubbs, of Houston; and Kenneth Wilson Stubbs, M.D., and his wife, Karen Culotta Stubbs, and their four children, Nathaniel Kenneth Stubbs and his wife, Jessica Fortenberry Stubbs, Andrew James Stubbs, Joanna Lee Stubbs and Julian Lawrence Stubbs of Natchez; and several beloved nieces, nephews and cousins.

Honorary Natchez pallbearers will be George Bates, Son Batey, Grover Brown, Walter Hargrave, Bert Matheny and John Williams.

Honorary Baton Rouge pallbearers will be Wallace Armstrong, Joe Culotta, Francis Degges, Dale Ducote, Herbert Dyer, M.D., Ted Kruse, Selser Pickett and Robert Scheffy Sr.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the local Council of the Boy Scouts of America, the Camp Fire Girls, University Presbyterian Church Mission Fund in Baton Rouge, First Presbyterian Church Mission Fund in Natchez or a charity of choice.