Roll Call Tribute

John Joseph "Jack" Luther
August 30, 1928 - May 17, 2021

John Joseph (Jack) Luther, 92, of Abilene, passed away Monday, May 17, 2021. He was born on August 30, 1928 in Omaha, NE to Joseph Peter Luther and Leona Harriett (Hepp) Luther.

Visitation will be Thursday, May 20 from 5 pm until 6:30 pm at The Hamil Family Funeral Home, 6449 Buffalo Gap Road, with a rosary following from 6:30 until 7:30 pm. Funeral mass will be held at 11 am on Friday, May 21 at Holy Family Catholic Church, 5410 Buffalo Gap Road.

Jack spent his early childhood on a ranch in Western Nebraska until he moved to Abilene in 1937 and attended St. Joseph’s Academy. He graduated from Abilene High School in 1945. He went on to attend Texas A&M and graduated in 1950 where he was a member of the Corps and was a distinguished academic and military student with a degree in Architecture and a member of the Ross Volunteers. After graduation, he joined the firm of Tucker and Lindberg as an architect until he and James D. Tittle formed the partnership of Tittle & Luther in 1957, practicing architecture for 40 years. Their firms designed many buildings in Abilene, the Big Country, and Texas A&M – such as the Taylor County Courthouse, buildings at Abilene Christian, Hardin Simmons, Hendrick Medical Center, Abilene Airport, The Abilene Zoo, and Holy Family Catholic Church, as well as dorms at Texas A&M and the airport at College Station.

He ranched and farmed for 20 years and developed an outstanding registered Brangus cattle herd – El Dorado Brangus.

Jack was the past President of the following: Abilene Chapter A.I.A., Construction Specification Association, Abilene Rotary Club, Big Country Early Ford V-8 Club, Abilene Construction Association, West Texas Brangus Breeders Association, and Texas Brangus Breeders Association.

He served on the board for the following: Boys Club, Abilene Chamber of Commerce, and Texas Society of Architects.

He was a member of the following: Texas Society of Architects, American Institute of Architects, and Abilene Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

Jack was also a member of Holy Family Catholic Church and Past Grand Knight of Council 2163 Knights of Columbus.

He was preceded in death by his parents and sister, Jodie Agnew.

He is survived by his wife, Judith A. Luther; daughter, Paula Klingler (Paul), Jeff Luther (Dawn), and Amy Botkin (Allen); six grandchildren, Holly Fults (Bill), Tracy King (Chris), Quintan Cockerell, Adam Luther (Emily Jacques), Ali Holamon, and McKinsey Cavuoti (Whitney); as well as 18 great-grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Architectural Scholarship in the name of John J. Luther at Texas A&M; Meals on Wheels; or West Texas Rehab.

A tribute to grandpa: “Today my grandpa went ‘on to glory’ as he called it. He did a lot in his 92 years here. He could whistle really loud, was a cattle rancher, a lover of the Texas Aggies, and an architect. I’ll miss his handwriting and I am convinced AutoCAD replicated their fonts from it. I remember him eating Cheetos from a wooden bowl in the afternoon with his Coors original in the 16 oz can, ice cold. He drove me away on my wedding night in his 1935 Ford, wearing a purple ruffle shirt under his tux. He was the best. He only wore coveralls, usually maroon. In the late 90s, he bought a llama and named it George. He loved Farolitas Mexican Food and watching basketball. He has a street named after him: Handsome Jack, and I think it’s perfectly fitting. Cheers to a life well lived, John Joseph ‘Jack’ Luther! You will be greatly missed.”

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