Roll Call Tribute

Jack Torrence Medlin 

February 19, 1926 - November 26, 2023 

Jack T. Medlin, 97, formerly of Tulsa, Oklahoma, passed away peacefully on November 26, 2023, in Largo, Florida, where he had resided since 2020.

Jack was born on February 19, 1926, in Breckinridge, Texas to the late Oscar Royal and Linda (Torrence) Medlin. He grew up in several towns around East Texas during the Depression.

After graduating from Karnack High School, he enlisted in the Navy and was honorably discharged in 1946. He attended Texas A&M University (Gig’em Aggies) under the GI Bill, graduating with a degree in Safety Engineering, then soon went to work for Aetna Life and Casualty in Dallas.

He married his hometown sweetheart, Betty Jo Rogers, in 1955. They moved to Tulsa after Jack was transferred from Dallas. Jack retired from a forty plus year career in Safety Engineering with Aetna. Retirement did not suit him, so he took a job with the MidContinent Group where he worked for several more years.

The family could often be found at baseball diamonds at MacArther Elementary or Eli Whitney Junior High where Jack coached little league baseball teams of his sons, Kevin and Mark, and grandsons, Josh, Jake, and Jarryd. Jack loved flying, from building model and remote-controlled airplanes to earning his private pilot’s license and flying his Cessna 150 and other small planes.

His passion, however, was spending time with his grandsons and great grandchildren to whom he was known as “Pap”. Pap will be fondly remembered for his kindness, sense of humor, sage life advice, ability to fix almost anything and reluctance to throw anything away. Jack was preceded in death by his wife of 46 years Betty Jo Rogers Medlin; sons Mark Andrew and Kevin Torrence Medlin, and brothers Oscar Royal Jr. and Will Rogers Medlin. He is survived by his daughter, Kelly Medlin Morton (Wayne Pescatello) of Stonington, CT; three grandsons and their children: Joshua (Ashley), Grayson and Mayleigh of Pretty Prairie, Kansas; Jacob (Jaimie), Jaxson and Joseph of Safety Harbor, FL; and Jarryd (Charlotte), Jayden and Jayce of Largo, FL.

The family wishes to thank the staff and caregivers of Seasons of Largo and Suncoast Hospice for their kindness and support.