Jack Warf just celebrated his one year anniversary with us at GHRC. So what better way of celebrating than to be our featured resident of the month?
Jack is 76 years old and was born in Grundy, Virginia, a big coal mining and timber area at the time he lived there. When he was in the 5th grade, Jack and his family moved to Welch, West Virginia, where his father worked for the US Steel and Coal Mining Corporation. Jack finished high school in Welch, and soon after graduation married Elaine. They decided to move to Las Cruces, New Mexico since the unemployment rate in Welch was 50 percent. While in Las Cruces, Jack applied to the Border Patrol and to the White Sands Missile Range (where the atomic bomb was exploded), but unfortunately, he had to be 21 years of age, and was only 19 at the time.
After six months of living in Las Cruces, Jack and Elaine decided to move back to Southern Virginia where he worked at Burlington Industries, and at a furniture factory for a few years. Jack and Elaine then moved to Northern, Virginia and Jack decided to apply for the Virginia State Police Department and the Washington, D.C. Fire Department. He passed all the tests needed for both, but decided to take the job offer with the D.C. Fire Department, where he spent the next 10 years working as a Firefighter and an EMT.
During those 10 years, Jack wanted to pursue opening his own business. So while he was working with the Fire Department, he was also running a landscaping/mowing business, taking care of over 75 acres of land each week. He sold that company in the late 70’s and then decided to open two coal mines in Southern Virginia. While running the coal mines, Jack lived in Southern Virginia during the week, and went back to Northern Virginia on the weekends to be with his family.
After the coal mines, Jack opened Virginia Solid Fuels, which was located in Bealeton. This was a distillery where they made 30,000 gallons a day of 200 proof alcohol. They sold this alcohol to fuel companies, and the fuel companies would mix the alcohol with gas to make fuel for different types of automobiles. Along with Virginia Solid Fuels, Jack owned different industrial properties and commercial properties here in Northern Virginia for a number of years before retiring.
Jack has four beautiful and successful daughters; Mary, Yvonne, Ruth, and Lisa. Two of them are teachers, one is a Veterinarian with a clinic in Bealeton, and one is an Aerospace Engineer. All four of his daughters attended Virginia Tech and met their husbands during their time there.
Jack has always had trouble with his back. After a bad fall a little over a year ago, resulting in a hospitalization, Jack was told that rehabilitation therapy would be good for his recovery process. Jack and his daughters all felt that he was safe here at GHRC, and decided that after his therapy was completed, he would stay on for long term care.
During his time here, Jack stated that, “Everyone has become my family and I have made a bunch of friends. The nurses and all the staff are just great!”
All of us here at GHRC are delighted to include Jack as part of our family, and happy to have gotten to know him so well over this past year!
By Christina Horan, Activity Assistant
