Jack Altherr, Sr.

POINT CLEAR, AL. Jack Richard Altherr, Sr. left this earth on May 26, 2014. He was born in Kokomo, Indiana on April 16, 1926. He is preceded in death by his son, Jeffrey Lee Altherr. Mr. Altherr is survived by his wife of nearly 67 years, Mary Branch Altherr; two sons, Jack Richard Altherr, Jr. of Greensboro, Georgia and Joel Tracy Altherr of Gainesville, Georgia; daughter-in-law, Lucy Jordan Altherr of Greensboro, Georgia; three grandchildren, Carrie Jennings (Hank) of Roswell, Georgia, Jonathan Altherr of Eatonton, Georgia and Lisa Bell (Jason) of Prairie Du Sac, Wisconsin; four great-grandchildren; and one brother, Robert H. Altherr of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Mr. Altherr attended Purdue University, where he was a member of Theta Chi Fraternity, after graduation from Kokomo High School. At age eighteen, he enlisted in the Army Air Corp, where he was classified as pre-cadet, receiving training in Texas, Florida and Alabama. Honorably discharged from the Army in 1945, he returned to his studies at Purdue and then, at Indiana University, where he changed his major to Business Administration. Even before receiving his B.S. degree in business administration with distinction at Indiana University, he interned in the offices of Ernst and Ernst, a public accounting firm in Indianapolis, Indiana, where he later earned an Indiana CPA. At graduation at Indiana University, Mr. Altherr was awarded membership into Beta Gamma Sigma, a national business honorary fraternity equivalent to the humanities Phi Beta Kappa. Mr. Altherr entered corporate accounting with P.R. Mallory and Company in Indianapolis, Indiana, and was later transferred to their offices in Huntsville, Alabama. While residing for nearly twenty years in Huntsville, Mr. Altherr worked for several major contractors with the space program, such as Thiokol, manufacturer of rocket fuel, SCI Systems, which grew to be one of Alabama’s largest employers, and Intergraph, a software engineering company which zoomed to astronomical heights. Other employers in Alabama were Central Foundry in Tuscaloosa and Schiller Industries in Cullman. In 1984, Mr. Altherr was employed by QMS Systems of Mobile, Alabama in financial management. Titles he held were Vice President of Finance and Vice President of Sales and Marketing which required extensive international travel. After retirement in 1991, he resided at Point Clear, Alabama, filling his days with yard work, golf and reading. He was a longtime member of the Lakewood Country Club. Memorial services will be held at St. Francis Traditional Episcopal Church on Scenic Highway 98 in Point Clear on Saturday, May 31, 2014 at 2:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be made to the Alzheimer Research Foundation.