Jack Colgin

Jack Colgin, born Gafton Leroy Colgin II, of Shawnee Kansas passed away peacefully on September 11th, 2025.

Jack frequently expressed his gratitude for his long life, filled with wonderful and unique experiences. While he was always proud of what he was able to accomplish through the Navy, his career, and volunteering, what he was most proud of was his family.

Jack was born on January 2nd, 1938 in Mexia, Texas to Eunice and Gafton “Buck” Colgin. The Colgin family moved frequently as a result of Buck's career and Jack grew up with his older brother in the states of Texas, Arkansas, Kentucky, Kansas and Oklahoma. Jack followed his older brother Joel’s footsteps and joined the United States Navy upon graduation from high school. He was stationed on the USS Lexington from 1957 until 1959. He served in the navy reserves until 1963.

Upon completion of his active duty service in the Navy, Jack attended Oklahoma State University where he studied accounting and graduated in 1964. Here Jack connected with friend David Wagner who later brought Jack to the Wagner family home where Jack met Judy (Wagner) Colgin. Shortly after this meeting they met again on the OSU campus and became inseparable.

Jack and Judy married in the summer of 1965. They lived in Dennison,Texas where Jack worked for a short time after their marriage before returning to Vinita, Oklahoma. Jack worked at KAMO Electric Cooperative in Vinita for 12 years as a lineman and then was promoted to an accounting position.

Jack and Judy welcomed their first daughter, Christi, in December of 1966. The final piece to their family, Cyndy, was born in February of 1969. They spent several years surrounded by family raising their girls in Vinita until moving to Dodge City in 1977. They enjoyed traveling as a family, including trips to the mountains where they could hike and ski.

In addition to raising his girls, Jack worked at Victory Electric for the entirety of his career and completed his time as General Manager when he retired in 2000.

It was in 1995 when Jack's first granddaughter, Aly, was born that he began his favorite role as "crazy Gramps." Shortly after, second granddaughter, Hanna, brought even more love into his life. His home and summers were constantly filled with laughter where he spent much of his days with his granddaughters creating memories including slip-and-slides, camping in the truck, building bunk beds or anything the granddaughters requested including their annual Dodge City Day Parade floats, and making homemade ice cream.

In 2004, he and Judy moved from Dodge City to Linn Valley to be closer to their granddaughters where they spent much of their golden years outside, doing the things they loved including golfing, fishing, and boating, while enjoying the blue mountains of a cold Coors Lite. He lived for lakeside days with their daughters, son-in-laws, granddaughters, and the special dogs that they loved dearly.

Volunteering was a passion of Jack's and he created many connections with his devotion to the community during his time as a Linn Valley City Councilman.

In 2017, he and Judy moved to Shawnee, Kansas. It was there that he enjoyed his favorite meals of breakfast with his family and a good bloody mary, cheered on the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals, watched Oklahoma State Cowboys football, and welcomed and adored his great-grandsons, Shaun and Owen Hodges.

Nothing in the world brought Jack more joy than his family. Him and his wife, Judy, celebrated 58 years of marriage before her passing in June of 2023. He often called Judy "the best thing that ever happened to me."

Jack is survived by his loving daughter, Cyndy (Chad) Steen of Shawnee, son-in-law, Jeff Reineke of Dodge City, grandchildren, Alyson (Ryan) Hodges, Hanna Steen, and great grandsons, Shaun and Owen Hodges. He was preceded in death by his brothers, Joel Colgin and Bobby Colgin, daughter, Christi Reineke, and wife, Judy Colgin.

For all of those he loved and appreciated, a Celebration of Life will be held in Jack’s honor at Blind Box (13214 West 62nd Terrace, Shawnee, KS 66216) on September 27th, 2025 from 11:00am-1:00pm. All are welcome to stop by, enjoy brunch, and share stories of Jack’s life.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to Jack's friends at the Shawnee Fire Department, 6501 Quivira Road, Shawnee KS 66216, 913-631-1080.

Thank you for joining our family to celebrate Jack’s life. We appreciate your sharing personal stories of the memories you shared with him. We cannot express our gratitude for the sympathy, love and support you have extended to our family during this time.

Sincerely,

The family of Jack Colgin