Jack Carr, a musician who entertained thousands of people at concerts in and around the Hamilton-Fairfield area, died Feb. 6 at his home. He was 88.
Penning his own music and scores, Carr formed the Jack Carr Band 25 years ago. His involvement with big band music was “probably as much about the friendships that he developed as it was about the music,” said Carr’s son, John.
“In order to have a band of 10 or 16 pieces, you’ve got to know hundreds of people,” he said. “He surrounded himself with not only good musicians, but good friends.”
Carr’s son, Sam, said the outpouring of sentiment following his father’s death has been “phenomenal.”
“He touched more lives than I thought he did,” Sam Carr said. “It’s great that he had such a positive influence on so many people.”
Carr is survived by one brother, Dr. James R. Carr of Hamilton; sister-in-law Eileen Leffler of Oxford; brother-in-law Don Fuerst of Cincinnati; four sons, Richard of St. Croix, V.I., Sam (Eva) of Hamilton, Robert (Sonia) of Reily and John of Springdale; one daughter Mary Ann Crease of Middletown; eight grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
The lifelong Hamilton resident served during World War II in the U.S. Army’s 243rd Engineer Combat Battalion, where he received three battle stars. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business from Miami University in 1948 and married Geraldine Felt in 1951, welcoming four sons and a daughter before she died in 2008.
“She was definitely his biggest fan,” said their daughter, Mary Ann Crease. “She was a great encouragement to him and really enabled him to have such a neat life, as far as being able to play music all the time.”
During college, Carr started performing with a group of musicians known as the Campus Owls, leading to a lifelong interest in the performance and preservation of Big Band music. Carr founded the Modern Appraisal Company, where he worked for more than 45 years until his retirement in 1995. He also taught real estate appraisal for 12 years at Miami University of Hamilton.
Visitation is scheduled for 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Colligan Funeral Home. Mass of Christian Burial is 10 a.m. Thursday at St. Peter in Chains Church.