Jack was born in Bonham, TX and was the grandson of Joanna America (Evans) Fincher, daughter of Thomas and Mary (Sparger) Evans. He grew up in Tulsa OK where he attended public schools. Jack enlisted in the Air Force in 1950 and settled in the San Francisco Bay Area of CA upon his discharge. He was a talented writer and essayist and had numerous articles and essays published in Readers Digest, Saturday Review, The Smithsonian, and other leading publications.