RIP John Reynolds

John Patrick "Jack" Reynolds

Des Moines Register

May 27, 2020

Indianola - John Patrick Reynolds was born March 27, 1952 to Edwin (Jiggs) and Pat Reynolds. They took home a healthy baby boy. Time was to change the path of his life.

He was four years old when a farm accident nearly killed him. It was June 4, 1956. A 100-gallon barrel of water tumbled off of a trailer, rolled over him, and injured him internally. The rest of the summer was spent in Blank Children's Hospital.

Jack started school at Hartford, then on to Carlisle High School as a freshman, graduating in 1970. He then went to Ellsworth Jr. College and after graduation stayed in Iowa Falls for three years doing odd jobs. He took a hitch-hiking trip to Nashville, Tulsa, and then Colorado before returning home.

Christmas Eve, 1974, he went to the hospital feeling ill. He received news he had suffered renal failure and would require dialysis for the rest of his life. Intestinal trauma ruled out a transplant. He was 22 years old.

Through the years he had supplemented his disability income with a series of part time jobs. Jack did a few TV commercials but his best experience was his speaking part in the movie, "Nebraska."

Jack went to Washington D.C. twice a year as a board member of the National nonprofit advocacy group, Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC). They worked to lobby congress to make life better for dialysis patients.

The farm was his refuge. He loved to sit in the shop on the old recliner, Rebel on the old sofa, and watch Mike work on his machinery. He called the farm his "paradise." The years took a toll on his body after brother Mike passed away in January. Jack began to decline. He made the decision to stop dialysis and enter hospice. He had been a dialysis patient for 45 years, 4 months, and 3 days. He drove himself every time except the last few weeks, either Scott or some of Mike's dear friends took him.

He is preceded in death by his father Jiggs and brother Michael. He is survived by his mother, Pat; sister, Susan; cousin, Scott (Bev) James; nephew, John Sautter; niece, Errin Hale and many dear friends.

Public Graveside Services will be held 11 a.m., Monday, May 18, 2020 at the Palmyra Cemetery, Palmyra, IA. You may join family on our Website Live Stream located on his obituary page of our website. Memorials may be given to the Historical Palmyra Church. To view a complete obituary or submit an online condolence, visit our website at www.overtonfunerals.com.

REYNOLDS, John (John Patrick Reynolds)

Born: 3/27/1952, Indianola, Iowa, U.S.A.

Died: 5/13/2020, Carlisle, Iowa, U.S.A.

John Reynolds’ western – actor:

Final Homestead – 2015 (Alex Simpson)