Obituaries

Dr. Jack McCorkle, 83, veteran/humanitarian, April 7 May 2, 2008 - No reporter cited

Dr. Jack McCorkle, 83, of Dallas, Texas, formerly of Saratoga, died Monday, April 7, 2008 of a heart attack.

He was a soldier in WWII in the Philippine Theater, a family practitioner for 15 years and a radiologist for 30 years. He was among the first physicians to do medical relief work in Cambodia and Vietnam and was involved in relief work on seven continents. He was a beloved brother, husband, father, grandfather and friend. His was a life well lived.

Dr. Jack began going with Partners in Progress medical teams in the early 1980’s to islands in the Caribbean. He went to Guyana, South America, to help appease a hostile government who would not give missionaries extended visas. After Dr. Jack and the team were there, Pres. Hamilton Green wrote that the “Churches of Christ had done more for their country than any other church or hwnanitarian organization.”

Jack led the medical team that opened the doors to comrnunist Laos in 1994, and he went to Vietnam in 1993 and again in 1995 to help appease that government.

When the Iron Curtain fell, Jack was part of the medical team sent to Romania which made way for establishment of the first churches. Missionaries still get visas through the ministry of Health as a result of the work Jack and that team did in 1990 among the orphanages there. Later, Jack returned to Bucharest.

After a trip to Sri Lanka where civil war raged, one government official wrote a letter saying, “1 was skeptical when I heard that you were offering medical care to all people… I have come to realize the true application of your good Samaritan story.” Only men and women with Dr. Jack’s spirit could make this impression.

Jack served on the board of directors and hdped finance the first school to train preachers in Southeast Asia. He also helped finance similar schools in Vienna, Austria, and Kiev, Ukraine. He worked in the Nigerian Christian Hospital and served on their board for many years. He also donated time to the Christian hospital in Tanzania.

Jack always told our medical team, “We are all terminal so the most important part of this mission is to share Christ.”

He was preceded in death by two sons, Warren and Dr. Brandt McCorkle.

He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Madalon; a sister, Jane Webb; three grandchildren, Dr. Ryan McCorkle, Megan and Sarah McCorkle; and many friends.

Funeral services were held Sat., April 12, at Prestoncrest Church of Christ, Dallas.

Graveside services were held in Roselawn Cemetery, Mineola, Texas, under the direction of Sparkman/Hillcrest Funeral Home Dallas.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Partners in Progress, P.O. 13989, Maumelle, AR 72113.

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