(828) 526-0173 | [email protected] | Copyright 2024 – All Rights Reserved.
Jack Thomas Lombard
Written By: Jane Gibson Nardy - Cashiers Historical Society | Issue: 2015/01 - Winter
Jack Thomas Lombard, age 87, of Mountain Rest, South Carolina, died peacefully at his lifelong residence before dawn on Monday, September
1. In accordance with his wishes, Jack was laid to rest prior to sundown on Tuesday, September 2 with a private burial on family property. He was first married to Betty Jo Henry Lombard for 45 years prior to her death in 1999. Their children: Tommy Lombard and wife, Phyllis, of Mountain Rest, SC, Eddie Lombard, MD of Los Angeles, California (deceased), Ernie Lombard of Mountain Rest and Beth Lombard of Mountain Rest and
San Francisco, CA. In 2007, Jack married Carrie Lou McMahan Lombard. (Died in 2011.)
Jack’s parents were Oly Ernest Lombard and Beulah Dillard Lombard, both deceased. His Zachary
lineage goes back to Alexander (“Andy”) Zachary, third child of Col. John A. Zachary. Next was Alexander Zachary’s daughter, Anna Jane Zachary who married Garner Edwards. Next was the daughter of Garner
Edwards and Anna Jane Zachary, Sara Isabelle “Bell” Edwards who married Ira Hi Lombard on January 14, 1880 at the home of Garner Edwards with James Zachary as a witness. Ira and Bell Lombard’s youngest son was Oly Ernest Lombard, the father of the recently deceased Jack Lombard.
The yearly Zachary Family Reunion was always attended by Jack and his family. He would arrive at the covered shed at the Lower Zachary Cemetery with two long tables in the back of his pickup truck which he would set up under the tent provided each year by a funeral home. Everyone put the food they brought from home on these tables. Then they lined up, filled their plates, then sat and ate at the permanent tables
and benches under the old shed. Jack and his first wife hosted a yearly Lombard Reunion at their farm house
at Mountain Rest where a feast was served of barbecue, veggies from Jack’s huge garden and vineyards, and covered dishes brought by the guests. Folks explored the farm where peacocks roamed the grounds, rattlesnakes curled in cages, a bobcat could be seen in a cage, and several rescued deer resided in a large enclosure visible from the highway. The whole farm, inside the house and outside too was “neat as a pin.”
Jack had a special talent for clogging and nearly every Saturday night he was one of the men at the Oconee State Park Barn, dressed in overalls, entertaining the square dance crowd with his intricate “buck and wing.” He was a sight to behold and he brought pleasure to multitudes of people throughout his long life. God speed, dear cousin.
