Jack E Allbritten Sr. Obituary
Jack Allbritten Sr., age 89 of Winder, passed away Monday, October 12, 2020. He was a native of Birmingham, AL. Jack spent 38 years serving his country in The US Navy and retired as a Chief Aviation Electronics Technician. During his enlistment Jack served on an aircraft carrier during the Korean War and served as a frog man.
After Jack's retirement from the service he worked and retired as a purchasing agent with Stork Gamco Poultry. Jack got his first taste of martial arts as a boy, studying boxing and then karate in Birmingham AL. He later continued to expand those experiences while serving in the US Navy, especially during his service in Korea.
After earning his first black belt while in the Navy, Jack returned to Birmingham, where he enrolled his two sons in Shotokan. Then transferring to Huntsville opened up a whole new martial arts world, when he was introduced to Grandmaster Leo Wilson, Shihan and his dojo on the top of Green Mountain. Here he found a martial arts family in the growing organization Midori Yama Budokai, where he took a leadership role and became the organization's staunchest supporter over the years.
He remained close friends with Wilson Shihan until the grandmaster's death. After a move to Kansas, the Allbritten family continued to learn martial arts, this time karate with Roger Carpenter. Then back to Green Mountain to pick up the friendships and training of the MYB family. Eventually there came another move, this time to Winder GA, where the family of martial artists opened a dojo, teaching and promoting in the arts of Shin Nagare Karate and Shin Shin Jujitsu, through MYB.
While continuing their martial arts learning and training, both sons became regular competitors. One of Jack Hanshi's favorite tricks was to load the sons' fighting gear into the trunk of the car, head out to "watch" some fights in Atlanta, then tell them they are actually there to fight! All three Allbrittens received their 10th dan ranks through MYB.
Jack was preceded in death by his parents, Bill and Jamie Allbritten; two brothers, Bill and Jimmy Allbritten and a sister, Gwen Watkins. He is survived by his wife of 67 years, Mary Frances Allbritten of Winder; three sons, Greg Allbritten (Lauren) of Winterville, Jay Allbritten of Winder and Jeff Allbritten (Anita) of Winder; a granddaughter, Jamie Harrison (Scott) of Jefferson and five great-grandchildren, Dustan, Brentley, Jackson, Jayden and Emily.
A graveside service will be held at 2PM Saturday, October 17, 2020 at Barrow Memorial Gardens, Winder, GA with military honors. The family will receive friends at Smith Funeral Home, Winder, GA from 12PM until service time. Donations may be made in Jack's memory to St. Mary's Hospice House.
