Chaplain Jack K. Golie

(December 7, 1936 – August 31, 2017)

Jack Karston Golie was welcomed by William Arthur and Martha Maria Fuhrer Golie on December 7, 1936.  He was four years old when Art and Martha moved to Whitefish, Montana. On his fifth birthday, Pearl Harbor and its dark aftermath cast a long shadow on December 7th celebrations.

Jack’s paternal grandparents were from Norway. A covered wagon brought them from Red Wing, MN, to Havre, MT. His maternal grandparents came from the Alsace-Lorraine region of Germany. Art and Martha both retained fluency in the language of their heritage. Art often sang Norwegian hymns.

Great Northern Railroad (“GNR”) employment brought the family from Havre to Whitefish. Art began as a cook on GNR. When the First Lady of the United States was a passenger on the train, she requested his pancake recipe. Art laughed, “Tell our First Lady I ran out of milk and substituted vanilla ice cream!” She loved his story! Art was a dedicated long-time GNR foreman. He also donated thousands of hours to the preservation of the lakes and streams of Northwest Montana.

The Big Mountain Ski Run was the picturesque background of the family’s kitchen window. Their home was two blocks from Whitefish Lake, the town beach. Betty, Jack, and Sid loved their small town where children played freely. After their Dad’s busy day on the railroad, gathering for evening dinner was the family’s most treasured hour.

Swimming, fishing, and searching for dump junk was the usual summer fun for boys. Winter activities were skating, skiing, sledding, hunting, and ice fishing. Jack was a champion Tri-City ice skater, a champion bowler, and was trained for six years in boxing, winning several bouts.

Education was a priority for the Norwegian and Swedish families of Whitefish. The Whitefish school system was in the upper five percent of the nation. To the delight of their parents, Betty, Jack, and Sid were long-standing members of the school band. Jack’s forte was the trombone.

Martha’s influence was great upon her children. Each morning they read Scripture and prayed together. Mother Golie was skillful in the conversion of a simple house into a loving family home. Peace dominated her environment. She graciously greeted unexpected visitors with her common  expression, “There’s always room for one more at our table!” Everyone loved her home-baked bread!

In 1954, after an evening on skates, Jack knocked on his parents’ bedroom door, “Mom and Dad, I’m joining the Navy tomorrow!” As they welcomed him into the room, he was stunned as both his parents simultaneously sat up in bed! The next morning, they were still in shock when Jack was granted immediate military leave from the railroad and left for Treasure Island, San Francisco, CA.

Jack’s first enlistment took him to Hong Kong, Japan, the Philippines, and many other islands. While on the USS Badoeng Strait (the Mighty Bing Ding), he was one of the few Americans to witness an awesome hydrogen bomb explosion at Eniwetok Atoll in the Marshall Islands.

In September 1958, Jack enrolled at Central Bible College (Evangel University) in Springfield, MO. It was there he met the love of his life, Barbara McDonald. Upon their first meeting, each instinctively knew they were Providentially destined to be together forever. On August 7, 1959, they were married. Their marriage of 58 years was built on a lasting and enduring love, a bond solidified with trust, respect, and an unwavering commitment to one another and to the marriage.

Upon graduating from college in 1962, Jack enrolled at Gordon-Conwell Theological  Seminary in Hamilton, MA, where he earned his Master of Divinity (MDiv) degree in May 1966. In May 1967, a Master of Education (MEd) was received from Salem State College, Salem, MA. During those years, Jack pastored churches in Maine and Massachusetts. In 1997, he received his Doctor of Ministry (DMin) from Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, CA. The doctorate was presented to him by his favorite college professor and college dorm parent, Dr. Russell P. Spittler, who had become the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Fuller.

After Navy Chaplaincy School in Rhode Island (Fall 1967), Jack was assigned to the Marine Corps Base in Twentynine Palms, CA. While in California, Jana Kay was adopted by Jack and Barbara at the age of twenty months.

Vietnam was Jack’s next assignment with the Marines (1968-69). After Vietnam, Jack was assigned to NAS Jacksonville, FL (1969-71). While in Florida, Jack Gregory was adopted by Jack and Barbara at the age of eleven months. After five miscarriages and Janae Kristin, their daughter, living only five minutes, Jack and Barbara’s house had become a fulfilled and “blessed” home.

Jack’s remaining military assignments were NAS Bermuda for four years (1971-1975), MCB Camp Pendleton, CA (1975-1977), DESRON 35 (Hawaii 1977-1979), and NAS Mare Island, CA (1979-1984). In the 1990s, Jack returned to Novato, CA, and served the DODHF military chapel as a contract chaplain for another four years.

From 2000 to 2015, Jack pastored struggling mission churches. Jack’s servant-heart hurt for any church that had suffered conflict, and for members who needed restoration from the conflict. One of his favorite expressions was, “The ground is level at the foot of the Cross. Nobody sits on a stump before our Heavenly Father! However, a pastor (shepherd) is extremely accountable to God.” (Jack believed that Ezekiel, Chapter 34, was the benchmark that God demanded His pastors (shepherds) to attain.)  Jack’s greatest joy was to see a struggling church grow, stabilize, and recruit a pastor.

After co-pastoring for two years in Pleasanton, CA, Jack began his mission church pastorates as follows: Troy, MT, Valdez, AK, Tok, AK, Rainsville, AL, Town Creek, AL, Tok, AK (second time), and Delta Junction, AK. His final pastorate was Yakutat, AK, which was not a mission church. While in Yakutat, Jack became ill with a terminal diagnosis.

In June of 2015, Jack’s prognosis was three to six months to live. For the remainder of his life, though his body slowly diminished, he continued his ministry on a one-on-one basis and as a requested speaker for 26-1/2 months. On his forty-fourth, and final, medical trip to M.D. Anderson, Houston, TX,  he still encouraged everyone with whom he interacted. Too ill to attend, he missed church the last Sunday of his life, August 27, 2017. His last sermon was given on August 20, 2017, in Pastor De Leon’s Spanish Church, Decatur, AL. The title of his sermon was “Let’s Go to the Other Side” (Luke 8:22-39).

August 19, 2017, was Jack‘s final Bible Study with his Montana friend, Tim Schertel. The subject was, “The Proper Understanding of the Nature of Temptation” (James 1:13-15, KJV). Jack was too ill to turn the pages of his notes. He never spoke of his physical condition. His goodbye words to his long-term friend, Tim: “I’ll catch you down the road, Bro.”  Barbara’s published book (May 2024), Embrace the Wind of the Holy Spirit, unveiled a Dedication Page to Jack.  The title of his picture was, “I’ll catch you down the road, Bro!”

Throughout his illness, Jack never lost his sense of humor. In the last week of his life, with her face flooded in tears, Jana said, “Dad, how do you suffer so bravely—never once have you complained of your horrific pain? I can’t understand! What’s suffering and dying like for you? I’m so sorry! I’ve prayed for your healing. Those Bible verses I’ve prayed have not come true. I’m not sure I believe them anymore. Listen to these verses, Dad.” In heart-wrenching transparency, she laid her typed verses all over his bedside and read them to him.

Jack’s mind fast-tracked down memory lane and visualized the twenty-month-old daughter he first embraced. Jack and Barbara were Jana’s third family. Her trust factor was zero. Jack recalled when he forced her into Barbara’s arms as he boarded a plane for Vietnam. As only a father’s heart can understand his daughter’s feelings of rejection, Jack said, “Daughter, you continue to pray for everyone’s healing. Those verses are one hundred percent effective. Apparently, God is saying, ‘I’ve got a greater plan for Jack.’ I don’t want to leave my family, Jana, but I’ve responded to God with the words of Jesus’ prayer, ‘Not my will, but Yours be done—in my life—as it is in Heaven, ‘Trust Him!’”

“Jana, I’m nearing death. I can’t tell you exactly what death is like because I’ve never died before! I do know what the Scriptures say. When I close my eyes in death, I’ll open them in Heaven! Then, I am healed forever! My back will not have three repaired plus two more broken vertebrates. I will have a new body! This is your first time observing one of your parents dying. It’s difficult for you. Trust God! I’m not concerned about my final test with pain. The only question I keep repeating to God is, “Have I loved every person in the churches I’ve pastored as You love them? I’ve tried. If I failed, please forgive me.”

Jack concluded his conversation in his servant childlike way: “Jana, Jesus could lean over to the Father this morning and say, ‘Dad, let’s heal Jack today!’ Instead, Jesus said, ‘Dad. Give Jack the strength to talk to Jana when she goes into his room with a broken heart.’ That’s how much God loves you and me, Jana!’”

Jack was preceded in death by his original family of origin. He is survived by Barbara, his wife of 58 years, whom he affectionately called his Angel. Other family members who grieve his graduation are Jana, his daughter; Gregory, his son; Shellie, his daughter-in-law; Alexandra, his granddaughter; extended relatives; military, and civilian friends.

Jack’s Camp Pendleton CEO, Colonel Rufus Bowers, USMC (Ret.), reminisces, “Jack was a ‘Navy man,’ but a ‘Marine’s Marine.’ Physically and spiritually, he was always at the right place and at the right time. Other than Jesus, no better friend. Jack spent the dash between his years well. Never have I seen a man who was more like Jesus Christ.”

Jack’s doctoral thesis was based on the New Testament book of 1 Peter. One specific paragraph echoes Jack’s heart: “My goal is to view suffering in every form as a gift from God to refine my faith. Continually, I remind myself that suffering is a privilege and a high honor. Never again will I focus on gold because it perishes as time ticks away. However, my refined faith will continue forever. I am determined to allow its message to penetrate my spirit so that my whole being will be filled with that inexpressible and glorious joy.” (A Strategy for Equipping Lay Instructors in the Charismatic Community for a More Effective Teaching Ministry. A Ministry Focus Paper Submitted to the Faculty of the School of Theology, Fuller Theological Seminary, in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Ministry. p. 67, by Jack K. Golie, 1997.)