This memorial website was created in memory of our loved one, Jack Leo Quanstrom, who passed away peacefully at home on Mother's Day, May 8, 2016. May he rest in eternal peace...until we meet again!
Tributes
Leave a tributeI can’t believe it has been four years! I still miss you so much. Thanks for being such a sensitive loving dad. I could always see it in your eyes. I’ve been studying Italian for the past year. When I get that down, I want to learn Russian. I finally understand your fascination with foreign languages. It’s like a game!
Have you been able to hang out with Rulon? I bet you have a lot to talk about with each other!
Earth life is kind of crazy right now, but I know everything is going to be good. God is in charge.
Anyhow, I love you so very much. Thank you for all the love, care, and time you gave to me.
I look forward to being with you again!
Love,
Joan Patricia
Again, it is time to commemorate your departure from the family, which includes me, your son-in-law. Few are the words that I can muster up at this moment as so many tears are cascading down my cheeks to simply express my awe and inspiration for you. It is a difficult task for me to think of any other person who has had so much an influence upon my life for you possess the entire gambit of qualities that most of us only wish we could have. Your generosity surpassed all that I have ever seen in a man. You shared everything you had while on your journey in this plain we call "Earthly Excistence". One could make a college course to teach about humbleness and sacrifice, optimism and courage just by examining your life and sharing your story with the world.
Thank your profoundly for allowing me to marry your sweet and precious daughter Janet Alison Quanstrom. She, too, is a pilar in my life and I know that she is a blessing to all those who knew her. I pray that you have found her as you journey forward through the heavens we all see to return to someday. I love you dear Father.
David B. Moon.
My favorite JLQ stories include the following.
1. Imagine JLQ, age 18, NAKED & UPSIDE DOWN walking on
his hands across the floor. This story definitely qualifies for
the Readers Digest "Humor in Uniform" section.
His action demonstrated to doctors conducting physical exams
for induction into the US Navy, during the summer of 1941,
that his right arm was strong enough for military service.
His right arm was injured, thereby weakened, when he was in
the womb of his mother who was in a car accident.
2. "LUCKY JACK" is how JLQ referred to himself, and was the title
to his life story. He was definitely lucky for the following reasons.
a. Married 67 years 4 months to his wonderful loving wife, Mina.
This is a case of "happy wife, happy life".
b. 4 adult children, 16 adult grandchildren, more than 18 (total ?)
great grandchildren.
c. Successful careers with: US Navy, United Fruit Co., Boeing,
IBM (retired as a Senior Engineer after 25 years).
d. Survived prostate cancer diagnosed in 1987.
e. An avid poker player while working in the US Navy & United
Fruit Co.
I always enjoyed when I was younger listening to the stories of Grandma, Grandpa, all my aunts and uncles--and we would just laugh and laugh. That was our entertainment. I always love our extended family and the times that we were able to get together and remember!! It was always fun when we would go to Ryderwood, Vader and Cougar Flats and try to imagine where our parents went to school and where all these stories happened. It is hard to believe that Jack is gone, but he certainly isn't forgotten and has left a great legacy. I too got his life story which I do treasure--however I don't agree with the title. I would say that Jack Quanstrom had a very blessed life. He was blessed with great intelligence, a great wife and a great family. I know he has had the hand of the Lord in his life and just like all of us--didn't always recognize it!! I love you Jack and I am so happy for our last visit a little over a year ago.
I wish you didn't have to leave, but I do know that this is not our forever home, whereas Heaven is. That is where you are, with my mommy, Janet. I love the song playing on this web site, this is a song that my dad and I like to sing together. Though it is difficult, my heart will go on, even though you're gone, Grandpa Jack. You are the best grandfather anybody could hope for. Thank you for all the blessings you have shared with us: your time, your wisdom, your joy. Til we meet again.
I love you!!
Love, Melissa Moon
I enjoyed reading his life story today. Thank you for posting the photos, videos and the life story.
You are everything to me You are the best father that anyone could ever ask God to give to them. Your generosity, humor, intelligence, and wisdom has touched me in every aspect of my life. I love you, dear Dad, I will always know that you are still with me in my moments of sadness because you have left before me to be with my Heavenly Father who loves us all. I know that He loves you, Dad. He will always be your eternal companion, your friend, your` protector. Bless you dear father for all that you have done for me and your dearest Janet and our family. You are the best and my family which is your family will never forget to remember you in our lives. Dave Moon
Your contributions to this family of yours have been immeasurable, and we're grateful to you for them. Your life story is an inspiration to us all. We will always remember you warmly and fondly.
Leave a Tribute
I can’t believe it has been four years! I still miss you so much. Thanks for being such a sensitive loving dad. I could always see it in your eyes. I’ve been studying Italian for the past year. When I get that down, I want to learn Russian. I finally understand your fascination with foreign languages. It’s like a game!
Have you been able to hang out with Rulon? I bet you have a lot to talk about with each other!
Earth life is kind of crazy right now, but I know everything is going to be good. God is in charge.
Anyhow, I love you so very much. Thank you for all the love, care, and time you gave to me.
I look forward to being with you again!
Love,
Joan Patricia
Please be patient.
Please be patient.
Autobiography of Jack L. Quanstrom ~ Part Thirteen
Beautiful Boca Raton: Our Base of Operations
Our transfer to Boca Raton was a very lucky break for the whole family. Being so close to a beautiful beach was a great thrill for all of us and there were many other advantages. One that Mina often mentioned was its relative proximity and accessibility to her homeland, Costa Rica. In the ensuing years she and I, and sometimes our children, were able to enjoy visits with her extensive family in San José. We were even able to travel in the company of our kids, Jack and Rosie, to visit Parrita and Quepos, where I had worked for the United Fruit Company, and romanced my wife. There was one occasion when Mina's huge extended family organized a tremendous party for us, for which they rented a large hall containing a dance floor and dozens of tables for participants. I can only estimate that there were at least 100 relatives, including entire families with lots of kids, taking part. Wow, what a party! I'll have to leave it up to your imagination to picture it.
We also had a lot of family on the West Coast that we needed to keep in touch with. Shortly after getting settled in our new house, I was able to arrange for my dad and mother to visit us, around the holiday season (Christmas and New Years). I know it was a great experience for them. In subsequent years, after my dad passed away in 1980, we were able to have my mother visit us a couple of times.
Mina also had family on the West Coast, nieces and nephews who had settled in Point Roberts and Canada as a result their connections with us. That is another story: briefly, it all started with our meeting an American on a ship traveling from Costa Rica, where we were all returning from vacation. Later, the following year, he made another trip to Costa Rica with a letter of introduction from Mina to members of her family. As a result he met and became enamoured with Mina's niece, Adela. This eventually resulted in her coming to the United States, getting married to the American, John Neill, and settling in Point Roberts. Later on she was followed by a brother who also settled in Point Roberts and a sister who married a Canadian and settled in Canada, just across the border.
Up to the time of writing this autobiography we have continued to live in the same house in Boca Raton, a total of 36 years. Our kids have grown up, developed their own lives and families, gotten educated and scattered out to different places before settling in their present locations. Our extended family has grown to a total of 32 descendants: 4 children,16 grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren. In the course of our lives, keeping in touch with our offspring has required a great deal of traveling to such places as Provo, Salt Lake City, Guadalajara, Chicago, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Winter Haven, Miami, and even Korea. In addition to these travels, there were trips to the Northwest to attend family reunions with my parents, brothers and sisters, and their families.
All of this activity is too complex for me to deal with in a short biography. For this reason, I propose to split the remainder of this essay into four sections—one for each of my four kids. In a few paragraphs, I will attempt to summarize major events in each of their lives. I hope that I can find time and energy to do a satisfactory job of this.
Autobiography of Jack L. Quanstrom ~ Part Twelve
Getting Started in Boca Raton
The arrangements for my tranfer included airfare for the entire family and shipment of our Dodge station wagon and all of our household belongings. We were provided subsidized lodging in a comfortable apartment close to the beach for the first nine months after our arrival. That was the time that it took for us to find a suitable neighborhood and complete the construction of a new house. The area was close to good schools, including grade school for Jack Junior and Rosie, and a high school where Joan became enrolled.
Janet had graduated from highschool in San José so was ready for college. Our solution to this problem was to purchase a new VW bug (cost: $1500) so she could enroll in a junior college located in another town some distance from Boca Raton. After changing schools a couple of times, including some time spent attending a school in Costa Rica, we eventually got her enrolled in BYU, where she met her future husband. Joan attended Boca Raton High School three years, where she graduated prior to becoming enrolled in BYU. Like Janet, she eventually captured a husband at BYU (obtaining her Mrs degree).
After going through an incalculable number of mental gyrations trying to sort out the huge number of experiences of our family since settling in Boca Raton, where Mina and I have lived since May 1969 in the company of varying numbers of our children and grandchildren, I have hit upon a plan for organizing much of the most interesting information. I realize that I am not going to be able to produce any kind of a literary masterpiece, and because of energy and time constraints I will have to limit the length of the document. What I hope to accomplish is to dedicate a page or two to each of the members of our immediate family, including first of all my wife, Mina, and me as the progenitors of our clan, followed in turn by each of our children.
Autobiography of Jack L. Quanstrom ~ Part Eleven
Career Development and Education with IBM in San José
Soon after starting on my new job I began to think about what I could do to improve my prospects for promotion. San José State College was easily reached from where we lived, and as soon as I could meet the requirements, I enrolled as a graduate student. One of the requirements was to achieve satisfactory scores in a Graduate Record Examination (GRE). Like Boeing, IBM encouraged its engineers to continue their education and provided payment of tuition for courses completed. In this way I completed a couple of courses towards a Masters degree by attending evening classes.
Then came a lucky break. IBM initiated a “resident study” program for engineers which provided those who qualified with tuition and expenses for full-time attendance at a selected college or university with the objective of an advanced degree (doctorate or masters). I applied and was accepted for the masters degree program, after being interviewed by a number of top department heads. I chose to attend Stanford University, located in Palo Alto. I worked out a class schedule so that I only had to make the trip from home to Palo Alto three times a week. I still had my Pontiac, acquired in Seattle, and luckily it held up OK. I managed to graduate with a Masters degree (MSEE) in June 1963. I was 40 years old.
After getting the MSEE I worked on a lot of different development projects, which I am unable to describe in such a short essay. I was involved in the design of products using the first large-scale- integration chips and I had to learn high-level computer languages, such as FORTRAN in the solution of design problems. I managed to get my name on a number of patents and invention disclosures. I advanced from Design Engineer through Associate, Senior Associate to Staff Engineer, which is two levels below the top engineering title of Senior Engineer. In 1968 I was offered the opportunity of a transfer to a new group that had been established a year before in Boca Raton, Florida.
Moving to Florida was not an easy decision to make. Living in San José had a lot of advantages. While we were there we did a lot of traveling during vacations, up and down the coast from Canada to San Diego. We were in a convenient location for visits by my parents, brothers and sisters and many relatives living in California, Oregon, Washington and even Canada. Mina had a number of nieces and nephews, who had settled in Point Roberts, Washington and Canada, which would be the basis for a long story in itself. I had cousins and a couple of uncles living in California and many close relatives, including brothers and sisters in Oregon and Washington. During vacations we attended family reunions in Washington, visited Disney Land and the San Diego Zoo, and made excursions into Canada, with Mina’s relatives.
However, there appeared to be a lot of advantages in moving to Boca Raton. The department I would be going into was headed by a Phd, Tom Harrison, who had also obtained his degree through the IBM resident study program, and had to his credit a couple of books on Process Control Computers. The name of the department was Advanced Technology in the General Systems Division. Most of the nine or ten engineers in the department had Phd degrees. One other engineer beside myself had a Master's degree. So you might say it was a fairly high-power department. I started out in the department with the title of Staff Engineer, which was four levels above Junior Engineer, and within seven years advanced to the top level of Senior Engineer after a number of years as Advisory Engineer.
For many reasons, including faulty memory and complexity of the subject, I cannot describe the many projects I was involved in during my career as an engineer. Suffice it to mention that I made some small contribution to the development of the IBM Personal Computer (PC), which evolved in Boca Raton. Of much more interest to my readers, I am sure, will be the development of my family, resulting in a huge number of descendants, including at the present time (I think) 12 great grandchildren.