Olin Jack Gourd

Olin Dale “Jack” Gourd was born on April 23, 1929 to Jesse Ralph and Emily Matilda (Parrott) Gourd in Corning, Iowa. Jack entered eternal rest on Saturday, July 23, 2011 at the Corning Nursing and Rehab Center in Corning, Iowa at the age of eighty-two years.
Jack attended Lincoln Center and Corning schools. After school Jack entered the Navy in 1947 serving our country for three years. After his honorable discharge he was united in marriage to Bernice Gourd while in San Jose, California where the couple lived for 35 years. They later divorced. On March 2, 2002 Jack was united to Bessie Jackson in Florence, Kentucky. The couple lived there until moving to Corning in 2004.
Jack was an independent truck driver for 42 years. After retiring he worked for Hertz Rental part-time in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Jack was part of the afternoon coffee group at Kay’s. He was an avid fan of NASCAR and driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. He enjoyed listening to country music on RFD, riding his adult tricycle and spending time with family, especially the kids. He never missed a family reunion. He liked playing guitar and being at Big Bone Boat Docks down in Kentucky.
Left to cherish Jack’s memory is his wife, Bessie Gourd of Corning, IA; daughter, Jackie (Steve) Allen of San Jose, CA; son, Larry (JoAnne) Faria of Hayward, CA; son, Daryl (Jamie) Wood of Verona, KY; daughter, Peggy Mahid of San Bernadino, CA; twenty-five grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; one great-great-granddaughter; brother, Robert (Leona) Gourd of Corning, IA; sister, Neva Nelsen of Corning, IA; numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.
Jack was preceded in death by his parents; brothers: Ivan, Donald, Richard, Russell and William Gourd; sisters: Kathryn Dixon and Annis Hayes; daughters: Lisa Athens and Teresa Kinman.