Jack Benton Cartwright

Jack was well known for his kindness and enthusiasm for life. He was a force of nature, and many have described him as “one of a kind”. Jack Benton Cartwright was born March 16th, 1944, to Charlie and Okema Cartwright. He was raised on the Seaside Golf Course which his parents owned until 1971. He and his three siblings Sue, Jim, and Lynn helped maintain the course and the well-known Par-Tee Room. His love of golf started at an early age and continued his entire life. The Seaside Golf Course is now back in the family and Jack enjoyed helping out and giving his nephew Patrick unsolicited advice.

Jack graduated from Seaside High School in 1962 and shortly after he joined the army. He was stationed outside of Saigon at the very start of the Vietnam War. He trained with the airborne unit and often talked about jumping out of helicopters. When he returned, he began logging in Alaska before starting his career as a commercial fisherman. After a few years of fishing, he and David Kelly bought the Arrow, and were exceptional halibut longliners. In 1979 he met Jane who was working in Seward and was interested in fishing. Although it was bad luck to have a woman on board, Jack invited her to fish. A few months later they were dating and catching more fish than ever.

In 1986, they bought an 80-foot steel boat and named it Kema Sue, in honor of his late mother and sister. Jack and Jane were married in front of family and friends, at a fun-loving celebration at Little Beach in Gearhart. In 1989 they welcomed their first daughter Jackie Okema and 18 months later their second Katie Jane. He was an amazing girl dad, even though he would tease about trading them in for boys. They lived on the Oregon Coast, but Jack continued to fish on the Kema Sue in Alaska and Hawaii. Jack was a great provider, but leaving Jane and his girls for months at a time was very difficult. In 2005 he was able to retire from fishing and sold the boat to his long-time crew members.

For the last 19 years of his life, he enjoyed time with his family and his hobbies. One of his lifelong passions was hunting, which he was overjoyed to share with his daughters. During the many hours of driving around in the woods listening to 50’s on 5, the girls heard hundreds of his hunting stories. He also had a love for travel, he and Jane enjoyed trips to Thailand, New Zealand, Tanzania for a safari, and many other destinations. Jack was a long-time member of the Astoria Country Club where he had an amazing group of golf friends of all ages. His relationships and hobbies kept him active and young at heart.

His life was filled with adventure, love for his family and incredible friendships that lasted throughout his life. Jack passed suddenly in the woods doing what he loved with a dear friend. He was recently preceded in death by his brother Jim, who he loved deeply. He leaves behind Jane, Jackie, Ben, his granddaughter Logan, Katie, Jeremy, sister Lynn, sister-in-law Pam and many nieces and nephews.

There will be a Celebration of Life at the Astoria Country Club, on Friday, December 6th from 12:00-3:00 pm. In lieu of flowers please donate to the Assistance League of the Columbia Pacific, PO Box 596 Astoria, Oregon. Jack was very proud of his wife’s work volunteering for ALCP.