Jack Helmick Brookhart took his last trip on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. After a lifetime of exploring the world, accumulating more than two million airline miles and visiting every continent except one and all 50 states, he passed away surrounded, in person and in spirit, by people who loved him.
Jack was born in Chanute on July 24, 1944, and grew up in the same small town, making his mark on the basketball team. His love of the game took him to the University of Kansas, where he graduated in 1966 with a bachelor’s degree in Spanish. The Spanish language opened up the world to this small-town boy, and a junior year abroad in Madrid introduced him to Judy, his wife of 59 years, as well as to a career in international business. However, no matter where he was in the world, he never missed KU during March Madness, and many remember his Jayhawk flag flying proudly on Aurora Street.
Jack served in the U.S. Army as a lieutenant from 1967–70. A U.S. veteran during difficult wartime years, he also managed to espouse the hippie-era values of love and peace while stationed at Fort Ord in the San Francisco area. This ability to understand and get along with people of all kinds became a hallmark of his personality, and until the day he died, he never encountered someone with whom he could not find common ground.
Following an MBA from Thunderbird School of Global Management, Jack and Judy moved to Brussels, Belgium, where they cultivated a love for ABBA, Brueghel the Elder and moules frites. They instilled a love of good food, good music and world travel in their children, Josh and Melissa — but mostly, they instilled their love. Jack brought his family back to northeast Ohio in 1978, where they put down roots in Hudson. He served for many years on the town’s environmental awareness committee, had weekly coffee at Saywells, Hattie’s and Open Door, and ran on every street while training for marathons, including Boston, New York and Big Sur. He also had a fulsome career in international sales and marketing with Sherwin- Williams, Blue Coral and Gojo Industries.
Jack will be remembered for falling asleep at dinner parties, ringing in each New Year with epic celebrations and Rod Stewart, eating ice cream and playing yard games with his children and their friends, and being surprisingly good at Trivial Pursuit.
He was preceded in death by his brother John and his sister Elizabeth Jane. He is survived by his wife, Judy; his sister, Barbara; his children, Josh and Melissa; his children-in-law, Cleo and Steven; and his six grandchildren, Lia, Max, Arial, Ian, Matilda and Gabriel — as well as his beloved John Deere.
In lieu of flowers or donations — although the family wholeheartedly supports the efforts of Vitalia Stow Memory Care and Traditions Hospice Care — please shake the hand of someone with whom you disagree, ask someone you love how they are, and join the family to celebrate the life of Jack Brookhart at Christ Church Episcopal, 21 Aurora St., Hudson, on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026, at 11 a.m.
Arrangements by Busch-Romito Funeral Home, Hudson, OH, 330-650-4181, www.buschcares. com.
