Jack Marion Landrum

Career Public Health Professional, and Lt. Commander, U.S. Navy, Retired Jack Marion Landrum, of Lawrenceville, Ga., passed away peacefully at his home on Wednesday, August 13, 2014, just days before his 90th birthday. He was born in Barnesville, Ga., on August 21, 1924, and lived in Atlanta where he attended Bass Junior High and Boys High. He was preceded in death by his parents, Luke Thomas Landrum and Sara Howell Landrum; by a sister, Penny Landrum Jones; by a son, Robert Mark Landrum; and by an infant grandson, Marshall Landrum. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Mary Steel Landrum; by a son, Tom Landrum and his wife, Susan, of Watkinsville, Ga.; by a daughter, Margaret Landrum Harrison and her husband, Paul, of Lawrenceville; and by a daughter-in-law, Kathy Landrum, of Smyrna. He had eight grandchildren: Tempe Landrum Stephen and husband, Chris, Alexandria, Va.; Ginny Landrum Huff and husband Bob Huff, Savannah, Ga.; Michael Landrum and Ms. Indra Chadha, Smyrna; Mary Beth Landrum, Smyrna; Amy Harrison Rawls and husband Lewis, Buford; Julie Harrison Richard and husband Andy, Buford; Scott Harrison, Lawrenceville; and Emily Harrison, Lawrenceville. He had great-grandchildren: Cameron Huff, Jordan Huff, Elexis Landrum, Patrick Stephen, Anna Grace Rawls, and Jack Richard, and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews. Jack Landrum enlisted in the U.S. Navy at the age of 17, and was trained as a medical corpsman before assignment to sea duty on the aircraft carrier, the U.S.S. Antietam. He served in the Pacific Theatre before hostilities with Japan ended in 1945, was honorably discharged, and returned to Georgia where he enrolled at Mercer University. At Mercer, he majored in biology, and was a member of Phi Delta Theta Fraternity. While in college, he met and married Mary Steel of Atlanta. Following graduation, he returned to Atlanta where he began work for the DeKalb County Public Health Department. He later was employed by the State Department of Public Health, where he was recruited to work in a groundbreaking program for early detection of cervical cancer. Shortly after being discharged from wartime active military duty, he joined the U.S. Navy Reserve, serving as a Lieutenant and ultimately attaining the rank of Lieutenant Commander. He wrote an account of his memoirs of service in the Navy as an enlisted man and as a reserve officer, which he published in 2013 and shared with family members and friends, as well with U.S. Navy archives. Jack Landrum was a member of Ivy Creek Baptist Church in Buford. Earlier, he was a member of Kirkwood Baptist Church, Scott Boulevard Baptist Church, and Clairmont Hills Baptist Church, and for each church he served as an ordained deacon. He enjoyed classical music, and loved outdoor activities such as hunting, fishing, and gardening. He was a member of the troop committee for Boy Scout Troop 175 in Decatur, and was an Olympics Volunteer for the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. He was a devoted husband to his wife, a loving father to his three children, and a caring and reliable friend to countless others. Funeral arrangements are being managed by Flanigan Funeral Home, 4400 South Lee Street, Buford, Ga. Visitation will be at the funeral home on Friday, August 15, from 6 to 9 p.m. A private family interment with military honors will be held at Arlington Memorial Park in Sandy Springs at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, August 16. A Celebration of Life service will be held that day beginning at 2 p.m. at Ivy Creek Baptist Church, 2500 Ivy Creek Rd. Buford, with Dr. Jim Ferguson and the Rev. Craig Dale presiding. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made to Ivy Creek Baptist Church Mission Program, or to the Calvary Children's Home, 1430 Lost Mountain Road, Powder Springs, Ga., 30127.