John Thomas Stack was born in Lithgow on December 6, 1941 and lived all his life at Rydal, firstly at Rose Hill with his parents, sister and brother and then later he and his wife Lorraine purchased the property next door.
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John attended Rydal School with his siblings and attended high school at La Salle Academy.
John worked on the family property as a child, where they grew peas, potatoes and other vegetables and also had cattle and sheep. On leaving school John undertook his apprenticeship as a butcher and worked at this trade around the district for most of his working life.
On November 13, 1965 John married his first love and only girlfriend, Lorraine Dowling. They made their home at Lorjon and raised their two children, Ben and Rachael.
In later years John and Lorraine were blessed with four grandchildren and three great grandchildren. With the arrival of his first grandchild John became known as Crump.
John, a fifth generation to live to Rydal, was a quiet achiever who did not say a lot but he, along with Lorraine and the family, was an active member of the community.
The spectacular grounds and gardens at Lorjon were freely shared with the community to raise money for charities and John and Lorraine were the founding members of the Rydal Daffodil weekends, which began to raise money for aged care in the Lithgow area.
John and Lorraine have shared their garden, not only for charities but for community events such as weddings and as a place for aged care residents to have an outing. John was a Life Member of the Rydal Show Society and head gate-keeper for many years right up until his death.
He was also a past president of the Rydal Recreational Reserve Trust and an active member of the Rydal Bushfire Brigade since the age of 16.
Following in his father's footsteps, John has looked after and maintained St Matthew’s Catholic Church in Rydal since his father’s death in 1990.
He and Lorraine were the driving force in making sure that the church remained an active place of worship within the community. For many years they held an annual open day, Rose Day, in November each year, with proceeds going to the ongoing maintenance of the church.
John, who passed away on December 12, 2017, was a much loved husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, brother and friend. He will be greatly missed.
