John Price Obituary

John W "Jack" Price passed away peacefully with his son and daughter by his side on June 4, 2025 following an extended battle with dementia. Jack was born January 13, 1929 to Laurette nee Smith and Herb Price in the old Omak Hospital located at the corner of Ash and 1st in Omak, WA. Jack spent his childhood years first in Okanogan and then Omak attending school in Omak from kindergarten until his graduation in 1947. His childhood was spent enjoying the small-town life playing outdoors, horseback riding and making friends with all the other children around town. Many of his childhood friends remained lifelong friends.
In high school Jack competed in several sports including football, basketball, track and field, and tennis. Jack was accomplished at all these sports, but he was particularly gifted at basketball. Growing up his children often heard of their father's prowess on the basketball court from former rivals on the court.
Following high school, Jack attended what is now Gonzaga University (his mother insisted all her children attend at least one year of a Catholic university). Following his mandatory year at Gonzaga, Jack transferred to the University of Washington where he completed his bachelor's degree in business administration in 1951. While attending the UW he developed his lifelong love of Husky football. A love he carried with him his entire life.
Following college, Jack enlisted in the U.S. Army and spent three years working in counter intelligence. It was during this time in the Army that he met a beautiful Navy nurse on a beach in Maryland. They immediately started dating and quickly fell in love. As luck would have it, Jack was transferred back to the west coast two months after they began dating. Thus began their cross-country romance that consisted of nearly daily letter writing. After a few months of the long-distance romance, Jack wrote a letter to Gene's father asking for her hand in marriage and two months later they were married in Baltimore, MD. Their honeymoon consisted of a cross-country automobile trip ending in Seattle, WA where jack was stationed (best to take the city girl to another city before bringing her to Omak). Gene often reminisced about the leg of the journey crossing west Texas and the tears streaming down her face.
After a year in Seattle, it was time for Jack to move Gene to Omak and begin his career in the family business, Central Chevrolet (later to become Price Motors), alongside his father Herb. Jack immersed himself in the community getting involved in several service organizations, the Catholic church and of course his beloved golf club. For several decades Jack was a recognized and respected business and community leader in the central Okanogan Valley. He had friends, customers, and business associates up and down the valley as well as across the state and entire country. It was a rare occasion that he entered a room and was not greeted warmly by several different people. It seemed as though everyone knew and liked Jack!
After four decades of operating the dealership Jack retired and he and Gene did some traveling. They traveled extensively in the United States making several cross-country road trips back to visit Gene's family, Jack's brother Warren in New York and various friends and other relatives spread across the country. While traveling, they were in search of a place to winter and eventually fell in love with the Palm Springs area while visiting their good friends Bob and Mavis Fenno. For nearly 25 years Jack and Gene spent half of the year wintering in Rancho Mirage, CA. Shortly after purchasing a condo, Jack joined Desert Island Country Club. He had finally "made it"! He had gotten to a point in his life where he could play golf virtually 12 months of the year, and he did! He loved to play golf and belonging to the country club allowed him to develop friendships with others that shared is passion for golf.
Jack was a strong family man who loved and raised three children and enjoyed his four grandchildren. He was a beloved uncle to many nieces and nephews and a beloved brother to 3 sisters and a brother. He was also a man of strong faith. He was an active member in the Catholic Church both in Okanogan and Rancho Mirage up until he could no longer make it to mass.
Jack is a past president of the Omak Chamber of Commerce, Okanogan Valley Golf Club, Okanogan/Omak Rotary Club and past Exalted Ruler of the Omak Elks Lodge. He is a former member of the Chevrolet Seattle Zone Dealer Council and a former member of the Chevrolet National Dealer Council. He chaired the committee responsible for supporting and passing the bond to build the current Omak City pool and he served on numerous community development committees during his 40 years in business in Okanogan County.
Jack was preceded in death by his parents, his wife Gene, brother Warren, sisters Polly and Jan, and his daughter Deborah. He is survived by his sister Camille, his son David, daughter Sarah (Johny), grandsons Colton and Ryan (Olivia), great grandsons Miles and Kaden, and his lovely granddaughters Melanie and Mary Grace as well as numerous nieces and nephews.
A funeral mass will be held at 11am on June 27, 2025 at Our Lady of the Valley Catholic Church in Okanogan, WA followed by a celebration of life reception at the Omak Elks Lodge. Memorials may be made to the Okanogan Valley Golf Club or Our Lady of the Valley Catholic church.