Jack Merritt Harter, 94, passed away Jan. 14 at Harney District Hospital.

Jack was born Aug. 16, 1921, in Murphy at the Hays Ranch. The family lived in various places while he was growing up. He went to high school in Modesto, Calif., where he played both football and baseball. He developed a lifelong love for these sports. He loved to fish, but never wanted to learn to hunt.

Jack joined the Navy in 1937 after turning down a chance to play professional baseball. He was discharged in 1941 with a heart murmur. He worked as a logger for a while. Jack expressed an interest in drilling and was hired by his uncle. Through the years, he worked for Boyles and Continental Drilling. He retired in 1982 from Boart Longyear Drilling. During his years of drilling, he traveled to 11 western states, Alaska, and Nicaragua. His first wife and daughters joined him on many of the trips. In 1989, through a mutual friend, he met his second wife.

They traveled and lived in their motor home for 23 years, visiting areas where had drilled. Their most memorable years were spent managing a campground in Fairbanks, Alaska. For his 94th birthday, he bought his wife a motor home so they could begin to travel again.

Jack is survived by his wife, Emily; children, Burdine Guillot, Phillip Heil, and Bettina Jacobson; granddaughter, Jacquie Trowell of Montreal, Canada, and daughter Cathy Oakes; as well as nieces, nephews, and grandchildren. He was preceded in death by sisters, Helen Mitchel and Ruth Kaiser; brother, Ben Harter; daughter, Barbara Bird; and niece, Kay Pacheo.

At his request, no services were held.