Jack Leonard Stout

January 29, 1944July 17, 2020

Jack Stout died peacefully in his sleep in Albuquerque, NM at age

76 after battling dementia for the last several years. He was renowned for his pioneering efforts in emergency medical services (EMS), beginning in the 1970s through the 1990s, with innovative ideas about how to deliver better service, saving untold numbers of people who have been ill or injured.

Jack was born the fifth of five children in Falls City, NE to Leonard Thomas Stout and Mellie Mae (Staley) Stout, where he graduated from high school. He went on to graduate from the University of Nebraska in 1967, and then taught high school English in rural Nebraska.

He met his first wife, Linda Murphy, in junior high school. They were married in 1963, and their only child, Todd, was born that year. They divorced in 1989 and Jack married Wendy Jones, an emergency physician, in 1990. Todd went on to work with Jack in his EMS consulting business, and later formed his own company, FirstWatch in 1998. Jack commented, on many occasions, that Todd was his proudest legacy. In 2014, he received a prestigious lifetime achievement award from his peers in emergency medical services.

Jack had a love for ocean sailing. For many years he lived aboard a 36-foot sailboat as his home-base as his consulting efforts took him around the world.

Through it all, he had a love for animals and especially dogs, including a Schipperke named Rachel who sailed with him, and Vinu, a sick and injured dog he "smuggled" back from a trip to India. His constant companion the last few years was a German Shepherd named Maggie, who he and Wendy trained to be his service dog.

Jack is survived by his wife, Wendy; his son, Todd; granddaughter, Samantha; grandson, Benjamin; ex-wife and friend, Linda; and many loving relatives.

Because of the current pandemic, there will be a small, private in-person ceremony for local family to honor Jack’s life. There are plans for a Celebration of Life in the future at a time and placed to be named. In the meantime to honor Jack, the family recommends you donate to the charity of your choice or to one of these worthy charities: HoofBeats and PawPrints, a non-profit animal rescue run by his friend and colleague Jay Fitch with his wife, Kathy, or to Shriners Hospital for Children, a non-profit that helps children, or to Fisher House Foundation, a non-profit that helps veterans. Please visit our online guestbook for Jack at www.FrenchFunerals.com