Jackie Lynn Hockett

Jackie Lynn Hockett

May 13, 1950 - April 10, 2024

     Jackie Lynn Hockett, 73, celebrated with the Lord on April 10, 2024, as he entered heaven and was made whole again.  Ervin (Turk) and Dolly Hockett welcomed Jack, their fifth of nine children, into the world on May 13, 1950, in Ulysses, Kansas.  As a young boy, he sported that Hockett smile that suggested just a hint of orneriness.  Jack was the classic middle child, mostly quiet with a desire for everyone to just do what was right.  In 1956, the family moved to the Caney area where they continued to build their life and family in southeast Kansas.  

     Jack was a graduate of Caney Valley High School in 1968.  During his high school days, he was an active member of the Future Farmers of America Chapter, serving as the Vice-President.   During this time, he worked at Messner Farms and became very knowledgeable of the swine industry.  Following high school, Jack was determined to go to college.  He was particularly interested in teaching agriculture.  He enrolled at Kansas State University and after 4 years of hard work and determination, Jack graduated in 1972 and became the first of the Hockett family to earn a bachelor’s degree.

     Jack landed a job in western Kansas at Smith Center where he was an ag instructor

and FFA sponsor.  His dream was coming to fruition, even if he had to move far from home to live it out.  He was dedicated to his students and would do anything he could to help them succeed.  In 1975, the ag teaching job in his hometown of Caney opened up and he was offered the position.  He moved back to Caney and the school year began that fall and all was well, until September 2nd of that year.  After a fluke drowning accident at a local lake, Jack lay in a coma for three months.  He had to learn to walk, talk and eat again and was unable to return to his profession due to how the traumatic brain injury affected his short-term memory.  He resided in Caney for most of the rest of his life, being cared for by his mom and dad, siblings, nieces and nephews.  He continued to be active at his parent’s filling stations, Hockett’s Auto Salvage and helping with any livestock that the family had.  He also worked at Kopco and attended Class Limited.  Jack was a member of the Caney Church of the Nazarene, where he often served as an usher.  But today friends, he is in the presence of Jesus and is now clear-minded for the first time in almost fifty years.  

     Jack is preceded in death by both his parents Turk and Dolly, his brothers Gene, Jim, Jerry, John and Joe and his sister, Mary Agnes.  He is survived by his sisters, Joyce Anderson and husband Jerry, of Clay City, Illinois, and Judy Bennett and husband Gary of Dewey, Oklahoma; sister-in-laws Coetta Hockett and Becky Wheatley, as well as an incredible number of nieces, nephews, great nieces and nephews, cousins and his Aunt Daisy Whithorn of Winfield, Kansas.  Visitation will be held Monday, April 15th from 5-7 p.m. at the Caney Church of the Nazarene located at 407 N. Spring, Caney, Kansas.  Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, April 16th at 1:00 p.m. at the same location.  In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made out to the Caney Chapter of Future Farmers of America.