James Jackson “Jack” Akers passed away April 11, 2024, in Hoquiam. He was born on December 26, 1927, in Raceland, Kentucky, moving with his family to East Wenatchee when he was two years old. Jack spent the formative years of his life in East Wenatchee. He left Wenatchee High School at seventeen to enlist in the Navy during World War II, but returned to earn a GED after his service.
Jack met Louise Fife in Wenatchee in 1948 and they were married in 1949. They were together for 54 years until her passing in 2003.
Jack had a variety of occupations during his working life. For ten years he was a mechanic at Boeing, where among other projects, he worked on the Dash-80, the prototype of the Boeing 707. Later, after moving the family back to Wenatchee in 1962, Jack found his niche in truck driving. He logged more than a million miles as a truck driver and nearly half that much as a motorcoach and school bus driver. Jack’s favorite work, though, was beekeeping. Whether setting out bees for pollination in the fruit orchards of Central Washington and almond trees in California or harvesting fireweed and huckleberry honey from the forests of Washington and Idaho, Jack was in his element. Commercial beekeeping is hard work, but he loved it. Until his final days, he loved to talk to anyone about bees and beekeeping.
Jack had an interesting variety of hobbies. RVing was in his blood for more than fifty years. The greatest RV adventure was a journey with Louise to Inuvik, Northwest Territories. They went there because “It’s as far as you can go.” Jack and Louise also enjoyed square dancing, both dancing with their club in Wenatchee and traveling the Northwest for square dance conventions.
In his 40s Jack acted upon a long-time dream and joined friends to build and race a stock car. After an encounter with a concrete wall totaled the car, they built a second one. Jack raced that car for years at Wenatchee Valley Speedway, as well as at other small tracks around Eastern Washington.
Jack met and married Shirley Matlack in 2008 and moved to Ocean Shores, Washington. They lived happily there, with their pets and a small garden, until Shirley’s passing in 2019. In 2022 Jack moved to Channel Point Village in Hoquiam where he made many new friends among the residents and staff.
Jack is survived by two of his children, Michael Akers and Cynthia Hupp, eight grandchildren, and many great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife of 54 years, Louise Akers; his wife of 11 years, Shirley Akers; and his son, Gordon Akers.
A memorial service will be held Saturday June 29, 2024, at 1 p.m. at Shores Fellowship Church, 694 Weatherwax Loop NE, Ocean Shores, Washington. In Jack’s memory, the family suggests contributions to Puget Sound Hospice or Shores Fellowship Church.
