Roll Call Tribute

John Rufus Colgin, Jr.
April 6, 1919 - October 28, 2020

John Rufus Colgin, Jr was born in Wichita Falls TX to John and Roberta Colgin on April 6, 1919, and in his 102nd year, John Rufus “Buzz” Colgin, Jr, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, October 28, 2020, under the kind care of very special people at the Lamun-Lusk-Sanchez Texas State Veteran’s Home as well as Hospice in Big Spring, TX. His long, cherished, and accomplished life will be kept in affirmative memory and remembered in joyful prayer by his family and all who knew him.

John was preceded in death by his mother and father, sisters Mary Jane and Louise, wife Martha Jean, and grandson John. John’s surviving immediate family are his daughter, who lovingly cared for him at home for many years, Suzy of Odessa; his son John and daughter-in-law Terrie of Odessa; his granddaughter Paige of Odessa; his granddaughter-in- law Charmaine and great-grandson David Jeremiah of Brooklyn, NY; and his son Paul and daughter-in-law Rebecca of Midland. John also has many close surviving relatives in the Ament family in Gatesville TX, where he was raised.

John’s life cannot be honored well enough in the words of an obituary, but he was first and above all a man of firm faith in his Father God and his Lord Jesus Christ. He practiced his Christian faith as both a Methodist and Roman Catholic, finding in both the love, forgiveness, and wisdom of his Savior. Growing up in Gatesville TX, he was a loving son and brother. He was a devoted husband to Martha Jean, who preceded him in death in 2007. They spent most of their adult lives in Odessa. He was a kind, loving, and generous patriarch. He was a World War II Air Force pilot and pilot-trainer. He was an educated man, receiving his BA from Texas A&M and his MA and Texas Teacher and Administrator certificates from The University of Texas at Austin. He was for many years an accomplished teacher and administrator for the Ector County Independent School District, among other things opening Dowling Elementary as Principal and opening Permian High School as Assistant-Principal. He was an avid golfer and a big sports fan, especially of Mojo, Aggie, and Cowboy football. He was blessed with artistic talent - a piano player, singer, song writer and sketch-artist. He had a sharp wit and contagious sense of humor. He was a noble man, to quote one definition, “moral in an honest, brave, and kind way.”

John dedicated his physical remains to The University of Texas Health Sciences Center of San Antonio. His prayer and ours is that the donation of his body to medical study may lend some advantage someday to the living.

So, he begins his new life with his Maker, as he loved to sing:
O love that will not let me go
I rest my weary soul in Thee
I give Thee back the life I owe
That in Thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be …

Condolences may be expressed online at www.myersandsmith.com. Memorial donations may be made to the charitable organization of your choice.

A public memorial service will not be held. The family will hold a private memorial service at a later date.