(KMJ) – Beloved Valley sports and entertainment star Jack Hannah is being remembered following his passing Sunday morning.
Here are the details of death, as released by the Hannah family:
Jack Hannah, beloved husband, father and grandfather, multi-award-winning Western singer-songwriter, minor league baseball pitcher, athletic coach, teacher, and guidance counselor passed away peacefully this morning in Fresno following a brief illness.
The son of the late Lon and Melba Hannah, he was born in Marshfield, Missouri, was married for 62 years to the love of his life, Linda, and together they had four children and nine grandchildren.
Jack played football and baseball at Fresno State, pitched six seasons with the Milwaukee Braves farm system and then became a coach and teacher at Hoover High School (he was named Baseball Coach of the Year for the Western Region United States in 1980), and was also a counselor at Clovis West High School. He was inducted into the Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame in 1998.
In 1987, together with his big brother Joe and Joe’s son Lonnie, Jack launched a new career as the Sons of the San Joaquin, a hugely successful Western trio which performed all over the world and made over a dozen albums. They were inducted into the Western Music Association Hall of Fame in 2006 and several albums have been given awards by the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum (Cowboy Hall of Fame). Jack has repeatedly won Songwriter of the Year awards from the Western Music Association and was the recipient of the Wrangler Award from the National Cowboy Hall of Fame.
Jack loved the Lord, loved his family, and his fellow man.
A memorial service will be announced.
