![]() ![]() When he moved back to the Raleigh area, he saw an opportunity to partner with his brother-in-law, Bill McLaurin, and bought 88 acres of land about five miles west of Cary “in the country.” He sold his part of that land in 1996 and it is now Fenton Estates, now very much within the growing town of Cary. He received many awards for his innovative and motivational work at IBM until he retired in 1987. In 1959 he started working for IBM which included moves from California back to Texas, then to Connecticut, and finally, back to Raleigh, NC when RTP first broke ground in 1968. Jack returned to civilian life in 1952 in Texas where he worked for Superior Oil and pursued his MBA. While in flight training in Corpus Christi, TX in February 1950, he went on a blind date and met Betty Quinn and fell in love with her at first sight! Jack and Betty were married in December 1950 after he returned from his next tour of duty. He was assigned to Fighter Squadron Twenty Three during the Korean War and flew their first combat mission as part of the Inchon Invasion in Korea in 1950 from the aircraft carrier, the U.S.S. He became a fighter pilot, flying Corsairs and Panther Jets. He attended UNC where he was co-captain of the track team and graduated with a degree in Math.Īfter college, Jack joined the Navy, where he proudly served both during World War II and the Korean War. He graduated from Broughton High School in 1944. Jack grew up in Raleigh during the Great Depression which shaped the way he approached life. He was preceded in death by his mother, Louise Rogers Hester, sister Martha McLaurin and her husband Bill McLaurin, brother John Hester, and sister Ginger Beatty and her husband Neill Beatty. He is survived by his wife of 70 years, Betty Quinn Hester his daughters Lynn Hester Connell (husband Richard), Lisa Hester Hall (husband Randy), and Elizabeth Hester Pawelka (husband Rick) and his grandchildren Chris Connell, Somer Hall Shively (husband Stephen), Shelby Hall, Eric Geiger (wife Blythe), Ashley Geiger, and Carl Geiger and his great-grandson Sirus Shively. ![]() Walter Jackson (Jack) Hester passed away on Jat age 94.
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