John I. “Jack” Campbell, 100, died peacefully Tuesday, August 4, at Cardinal Grove Assisted Living in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. He was born February 23, 1926 in Vinton, Iowa, to Earl and Adelaide (Quackenbush) Campbell. He married Veneta Mae Purvis on December 6, 1952, in Rochelle, Illinois. They were married for 69 years, until Veneta died in 2021.
Jack attended one-room country schools through eighth grade and graduated from Lincoln High School in Vinton in 1944. After graduation in 1944, he entered the U.S. Army, training in Camp Hood Texas as a radio operator and assistant driver in the tank destroyers. He was shipped overseas and assigned to the 773rd Tank Destroyer Battalion in the European Theater of Operations (Germany) as a radio operator. Following the surrender of the German troops, he was chosen to attend the Biarritz American University for a term in Biarritz, France. Following that, he was assigned to the 53rd Quartermaster Corps, doing border patrol between Germany and Czechoslovakia. He was discharged from the 53rd as a Tech 4 Sergeant in 1946.
After returning to the U.S., he attended Iowa State University (Ames) for two years and worked summers for the California Packing Corporation (later known as Del Monte) in Rochelle, Illinois. In 1948 he left Iowa State and began working full time for Del Monte in Rochelle in their seed and research department. In 1954, Jack and Veneta moved to Lincoln, Nebraska and Jack worked for the Agronomy department at the University of Nebraska, while attending classes. Jack later graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Agronomy from the University of Nebraska.
After graduating from university, Jack and Veneta returned to Rochelle, Illinois, where Jack worked for Del Monte as a Field Supervisor in their farming operation in the production of sweet corn, peas, lima beans, and pumpkins. In 1961, Jack was transferred to Markesan, Wisconsin, to be the first Field Supervisor for Del Monte to work with the production of Bush Blue Lake Beans. In 1968, Del Monte moved its headquarters for the production of green, wax, and Italian beans to Plover, Wisconsin and Jack was transferred there as Field Superintendent.
Jack and Veneta settled in Stevens Point, where they raised their family and were active in the community. They were members of the Frame Memorial Presbyterian church and Jack served as a deacon. Jack and Veneta were very social, playing in various bridge clubs and golfing. Jack loved all outdoor activities, hunting, fishing, and snowmobiling. He was an avid Packer supporter, along with the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Iowa Hawkeyes, and Wisconsin Badgers.
Jack belonged to the Stevens Point Noon Lions Club and volunteered for many years with the Lions at the Iola Old Car Show, as well as events at the Lions Camp in Rosholt. He attended Lions Club meetings into his 99th year.
Jack retired from Del Monte in 1990 and he and Veneta enjoyed many years as snowbirds in various locations in Florida and Gulf Shores, Alabama. Jack’s outgoing personality meant he made friends everywhere he went.
In addition to his parents, and his wife, Veneta, he was preceded in death by his son, James Carlton; brother Robert; brother and sister-in-law, Charles and Patricia (Garbers); sister and brother-in-law, Florence (Roy) Rippel; brothers-in-law Gerald Purdy and Gene Relf; and nephew Ron Relf.
Jack is survived by his sisters Lois (Gerald) Purdy and Marcia (Gene) Relf; his children Carol L. of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Jane M. of Gillette, Wyoming, and John W. of Pulaski, Wisconsin; his grandchildren Greg Deal, Gillette, Wyoming, Tierney Deal, Santa Rosa, California, Josie Campbell, Pulaski, Wisconsin, and Jaxon Campbell, Pulaski, Wisconsin; his great-grandson Hayden Deal, Bay City, Michigan.
Visitation for Jack will be Saturday, August 29 from 11:00-12:00 pm at Frame Memorial Presbyterian Church, in Stevens Point. A Celebration of Life will follow the visitation, beginning at 12 noon.
In lieu of flowers, memorials can be sent to Mission Grants at Frame Memorial Presbyterian Church, 1300 Main Street, Stevens Point, WI 54481; Wisconsin Lions Foundation, 3834 County Road A, Rosholt, WI 54473.
Interment will be held at Markesan Memorial Cemetery, Markesan, Wisconsin.
