John R. “Jack” Fullerton

John R. “Jack” Fullerton, 89, passed away peacefully with his family at his side on September 16 in Paso Robles, California.

Jack was born November 30, 1923 in Los Angeles, California and grew up in the Los Angeles / Glendale area. As a young man Jack was a talented artist, athlete, camping enthusiast, and an active participant in school activities while attending Glendale High School and Glendale College.

During World War II Jack served in the U.S. Navy from 1943 to 1945 as the Communications Officer aboard the destroyer USS Knapp which saw action in the Pacific. He was present in Tokyo Bay at the signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender which concluded the war. After he was discharged from the Navy, he attended UCLA where he earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting.

In 1949 Jack joined his family’s business, Fullerton Sales Company, a wholesale distributor of engineering and art supplies. He remained with the company for 42 years and, as president, helped build it into the largest distributor of art materials in the western United States.

Jack had a special fondness for California’s Sierra Nevada mountains, especially Yosemite National Park which hosted many significant events in Jack’s life. As a boy Jack spent whole summers there and as an adult he worked there as a soda jerk, honeymooned there, vacationed there with his family and at the age of 53 spent a week backpacking on the John Muir Trail.

After his retirement, Jack relocated to Ojai, California with his wife where he pursued his interests in gardening, carpentry, map collecting, traveling, and doing volunteer work for various local organizations including the Ojai sheriff’s dept. where he volunteered for 18 years.

He is survived by his wife Jody of 63 years, five children (Jessica, Susan, John, Ridgely, and Peter), one grandchild (Will), and one brother, Richard “Dick” Fullerton of Newark, CA.