John David Trout

© Trout Funeral Home

01-2009

Submitted by: Jo Aguirre

© Grace Memorial Chapel

John David (Jack) Trout passed away January 23, 2009, at Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City. Jack was born January 26, 1921, in Ponca City, Oklahoma, to Ernest Merrell Trout, Sr. and Nelle Elisabeth Babcock Trout. Jack was a graduate of Ponca City High School, attended Northern Oklahoma College, and earned an associates degree while working at the family funeral home. He joined the United States Army Air Corps on September 25, 1942, and spent two and a half years in England during World War II.

Jack again joined his father and brothers at the E.M. Trout & Sons Funeral Home subsequent to his discharge on November 25, 1945. Jack married Louise Campbell on November 30, 1946. "Jack and Jim – The Minnow Men" was the slogan which launched the business careers of Jack Trout and Jim Trout, twin sons of Mr. and Mrs. Ernest M. Trout, Sr. With the help of their father, the ten-year-old boys built a cement pond in the backyard of their home at 314 N. 4th Street. They seined minnows from the Arkansas River, advertised their new business, then slept outdoors beside their pond every night to accommodate the predawn fisherman of Ponca City who drove down the alley to buy bait in the early summer mornings of 1931 to 1933. Within three summers the boys earned approximately $1000 – and this was during the depression years! Later Jim sold magazines and delivered newspapers while Jack held other jobs until, at the age of fifteen, they, their father, and their older brother Ernest Trout, Jr., opened the E.M. Trout & Sons Funeral Home in 1936, a business in which they worked seven days a week for the next 41 years.

In addition to handling funeral services, the firm also operated a 24-hour-a-day ambulance service for over three decades. Jack was a past president of the American Business Club and the Ponca City Safety Council. He was a member of the American Legion, Elks, the Oklahoma Funeral Directors Association, and the Ponca City Country Club. Jack was a longtime member of the First Baptist Church and the Disciples Sunday School Class.

Jack is survived by his wife, Louise Trout, of the home, and their three daughters, Dr. Edwina Trout and husband Dr. Bob Evans, of Oklahoma City, Gloria Trout of Norman, and Julie Trout Lombardi, of Owasso, and three grandchildren, Caroline Cox of Houston, Texas, Brennan Lombardi of Owasso, and Megan Lombardi of Owasso. Jack is also survived by a brother, Ernest Merrell Trout, Jr. of Ponca City, his sister, Phyllis Baker Gehrig of Carmichael, California, and many nieces and nephews.

Jack was preceeded in death by his parents and his twin brother, James Babcock Trout.

Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, January 28, 2009 at the First Baptist Church at 10:00AM with a graveside service to follow at Odd Fellows Cemetery.

Serving as pallbearers are Jack's nephews Scott Baker of Carmichael, California, and Bill Trout of Bartlesville, great nephews Dustin Reavis of Tulsa, Jonathan Trout of Owasso, and Ryan Trout of Broken Arrow. Also serving as pallbearers are Jack's son-in-law Bob Evans, and Jack's grandson, Brennan Lombardi, and friends of the family David Philley of Houston, Texas, and Sam Preston of Norman.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Oklahoma Baptist Homes for Children Inc., 3800 N May Ave., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 73112-9750.

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