Editor’s note: Second of two parts
By Marilyn Miller
Jack Montgomery was initially going to hire someone to run his Minden law office, but he kept spending more and more time there. He built wife Carolyn and the family a home on Whispering Pines Drive, with plans to return to Springhill to build on family property they owned there. That was in the mid-1970’s. They are in the same house today, but the family has grown. Elizabeth Hollingsworth is the owner of her own business in Minden, Rebecca Camp and her husband and daughter live in Longview, TX and John, Jr. and his family live in Richmond, VA. Jack and Carolyn, who have been married for 67 years, have eight grandchildren, and 16 great grandchildren.
Jack is also an entrepreneur. He and James Madden developed the acreage in the area of Whispering Pines Drive. Jack was an owner and board member for the Minden Hospital, which he and his partners bought from the Sentells. He was a key player in the sale of the updated medical center to Humana, along with Pearce Jamison, Dr. Gary Daniels, the Richardsons, Madden and “Big” John McInnis. He and a few of his associates also organized and built Webster Bank & Trust Company, which became MBL Bank and is now B1 Bank.
John Willard “Jack” Montgomery, Sr. was born in Springhill, LA on June 2, 1936 to parents Earl W. and Berniece McLeod Montgomery. His family lived near the “paper mill” in the “Pine Hills” subdivision, and his house was squeezed between those of his football pal, John David Crow, who went on to great things in the NFL, and his lifelong sweetheart, Carolyn Tucker, who he married in 1958.
Jack has the honor of being the “most lettered” athlete to come out of Springhill High School. He started out being the football cheerleader mascot in the 4th-5th grades, and the team’s manager until the ninth grade, when he started. He not only lettered, he won All-State his Senior year. He played on the football team that won the State Championship, and he was playing on the basketball team when it brought that State trophy home to Springhill as well.
Another claim to fame involves the Montgomery men and football. Jack’s daddy, Earl, was on the Bastrop football team that won the State Championship in 1927. Jack, of course, was on the Springhill football team, and basketball team, that won State trophies in 1952-53; and Jack and Carolyn’s son, John, was on the Minden High School team that won the State Championship in 1981.
Jack thrived at Tulane University. He became captain of the Green Wave football team his Senior year and his team was ranked in the Top 10 several times, playing in the Southeastern Conference. He was awarded the Chicago Herald Award for Outstanding Cadet in 1958, a national honor.
While living in both Springhill and Minden, Jack became affiliated with the Lions Clubs. He was a member of the Minden Jaycees. But it was the Bossier City Jaycees that nominated him for State “Outstanding Young Man of the Year” in his early 30s. He was also a member of the American Legion, where he spearheaded the Junior Shooting Sports Program. He was a deacon at Central Baptist in Springhill and First Baptist in Minden.
And somewhere in his jumbled 90 years of life, Jack served as Judge Jack Montgomery, when he served as judge after Cecil Lowe won the office of District Judge, leaving the Minden City Court in need of an interim judge.
Distinguished Service Award. After Jack won the Greater Minden Chamber of Commerce “Distinguished Service Award” in March of this year, the following appeared in a chamber bulletin:
“A devoted community leader, Jack is a 55-plus year member of the Minden Lions Club and has faithfully served First Baptist Church (USAF and Central Baptist Church Springhill) as a Sunday School teacher, investing in and encouraging others for generations. His life has also been marked by service to our country in the United States Air Force, as well as leadership on the football field—from a state championship team at Springhill to team captain at Tulane University.
Above all, Jack is known for his humility, faith, and the way he pours into others. His legacy is not just in his accomplishments, but in the countless lives he has impacted along the way.”
–