It took the Stentor 31 days to come back from China . Jack said they had to follow the stars , and thankfully , they had some people on board who knew how to direct them this way . When the Stentor arrived at San Pedro Harbor in southern California , Jack said , “ They rolled out the red carpet for us .”
Jack spent six months on the ship in China before making it back to the U . S ., where he stayed for his remaining two years of service on the Stentor in the San Diego harbor while the ship prepared for decommissioning .
After the military , Jack returned home to Merced and to farming . It was during the summer of 1952 , that Jack met his wife Evelyn . “ I met her in a tomato packing shed , when I stopped in to see one of my buddies that was working there ,” Jack recalled . During the school year , Evelyn worked as a teacher in Pasadena . They hit it off , but spent seven years in a longdistance relationship , as Evelyn returned to Southern California and Jack moved with his family to Willows in Northern California . They married in 1959 , and this year they are celebrating 64 years of marriage .
After farming for a while , Jack drove a truck delivering feed for a poultry company for 15 years . Although Jack ’ s true interest was in agriculture , he knew he needed a more profitable job . Jack and Evelyn ended up in Modesto , where they began raising their three children — Brad , Rod , and Shelly . Jack found work with a company that did garage door installations , along with other jobs . One day , after one of the installers was electrocuted , Jack was asked to fill in , and this set him on the career path he maintains today . smallest ways . All three kids grew up working for their dad , from organizing nuts and bolts at a young age , to bigger jobs as they aged . Evelyn was originally concerned that the kids would burn out on work by the time they grew up , but Jack said that they appreciated it as adults and they credit their dad with teaching them a strong work ethic .
While Jack ’ s sons each tried out other jobs , they all came back to Jack ’ s Overhead Doors . Jack ’ s oldest , Brad , has been running another garage door business in Paso Robles for 30 years , Brad ’ s Overhead Doors , which he and his dad started . Brad said his dad “ made me who I am today by the things he ’ s taught me — quality work , my work ethic , and being there for the customer when they need you .” Brad said his dad has also taught him many other skills . “ He ’ s very good at designing and fabricating things .” importantly , Brad said , “ He ’ s always been there for me as a dad .”
Rod and Shelly have both worked for many years at Jack ’ s in Gilroy . Rod oversees personnel and commercial work , and Shelly acts as the office manager and does bookkeeping . The grandchildren have worked in the business , too , over the years , with two of them still working there . continued ...
The company ’ s owner originally planned to have Jack take over the business , but the man ’ s sons chose to do so , instead . The owner was apologetic and offered to help Jack get his own business started if he found a suitable place . Eventually , Jack and his wife moved their family to Gilroy , where Jack ’ s brother and his wife already lived ; it seemed like the perfect place to start the garage door business at the time .
Evelyn continued teaching after their move . Jack credits his wife with doing a great job of raising their three children and their daughter Shelly Hale echoed this . “ She ’ s our glue ,” she said .
Family time was often a weekend spent driving in the truck with Dad to go on a garage door installation run . It got the whole family out together , and they all helped , even in the
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