Col. (Ret.) John (Jackie) William Spalding, formerly of Anchorage, filed his last flight plan on July 8, 2023, to meet his parents and his wife, Jane. Originally from Oklahoma, he was a resident of Anchorage from 1962 until health forced him to move back to Oklahoma in the fall of 2021. He was proud to be called an Alaskan and served both his state and his country with gratitude.
John was born on the family farm in Washington County, Oklahoma, on August 26, 1931, to Harold and Bernice Spalding. He was the oldest of six children, followed by two sisters and three brothers. John attended school in Dewey, and was a member of the Dewey football team that won a State Championship in 1947. He first attended college at Coffeyville, Kansas, Junior College, where he continued with football. He then attended Oklahoma A&M (he would scold you if you referred to the university as Oklahoma State), graduating with a degree in forestry. By that time, he was flying for the National Guard. After a few setbacks, he took his degree and his love for flying and headed to Alaska.
During one of his many military training trips, he met Jane Cochran. They were married for 48 years before her passing in 2015. They had no children and occupied their spare time with trips across the world, attending Rotary International meetings, and taking advantage of opportunities to visit the local sights. (New Zealand was his favorite place.) They also put their German Shepherds in the back seat of their plane, and flew to dog shows all over North America. After John’s health forced him to give up his pilot’s license, and he and Jane became involved in fund raising for police dogs for local law enforcement.
Because of his service in the Alaska Air National Guard, John had numerous opportunities to be among the first in many of his endeavors. (And he was always ready to share his stories!) He moved to Alaska shortly after statehood, being among the first pilots with the Guard. He was in the air not too long after the 1963 earthquake for assessment and assistance. He flew along the North Slope, where the instruments didn’t work because of the magnetic pulls. (Apparently, you can also lose consciousness because of the altitude – while flying!) He trained many of our astronauts in water rescue. The Russian military invited him to visit, which he accepted as a “once in a lifetime” opportunity.
After military retirement, he continued to fly in the private sector, providing services to fly geologists into the interior for various explorations. He never forgot his forestry training, and was a member of the “Oklahoma A&M” forestry alumni association. He had contacts all over the world, and Jane made sure a Christmas “newsletter” kept them in touch over the years. John never met a stranger, and as his brother Harold stated many times, “You can’t go anywhere that John doesn’t know somebody.” John, you are already missed.
He was survived by all five siblings: sisters Phyllis Carroll Diaz, (Norman, OK,) Roberta Burr, (Dewey, OK;) and brothers Harold Ray Spalding, (passed in October 2023, in Minnesota) James E. Spalding (Dewey, OK) and Bruce Spalding (Gore, OK). He also left behind fourteen nieces and nephews, numerous grand-nieces and nephews, as well as Jane’s cousins Nancy Calhoun Brock and Suzann Calhoun Boone, and nephews Scott and Daniel Cochran, whom he thought of as his family.
At John’s request, most of his and all of Jane’s ashes have been interred in the Dewey Cemetery in Oklahoma during a memorial with family and long-time friends. The family has entrusted Celestis Memorial Spaceflights with a small amount of John’s ashes. Those ashes will be launched into orbit around the Earth in October 2024. For the specific date of the Cape Canaveral launch, please check their website, Celestis.com, and monitor the Serenity Flight. You can sign up for reminders to watch on-line, or to attend in person. Memorial donations can be made to his mother’s favorite, Cookson Hills Children’s Home, 60416 Highway 10, Kansas, OK 74347-7042. “Keep your powder dry.”
