Mr. Jack Theodore Day, beloved husband of Betty Galloway Day, entered into eternal rest at his home on January 12, 2010, surrounded by his family. He fought a courageous battle with mesothelioma lung cancer. A Celebration of Life Service will be held Thursday, January 14, 2010 at eleven o'clock at Ashley River Baptist Church. The family will receive friends at a reception immediately following the service in the church social hall. Burial will follow in Beaufort National Cemetery at two-thirty o'clock. Friends may call at J. HENRY STUHR, INC., DOWNTOWN CHAPEL Wednesday between five and seven o'clock. Mr. Day was born March 27, 1934 in Elizabethton, TN, the son of Theodore T. and Ossie Deloach Day. Mr. Day retired from the Charleston Naval Shipyard in 1989 as the Director of Management Engineering, the position he held for the last thirteen years of his career. Prior positions held were Nuclear Production Manager, Head Nuclear Reactor Engineering Division, Nuclear Project Engineer, Head Design Division Technical Support Branch, and Design Engineer. He was one of the original group of ten engineers that started the Naval Nuclear Power Program at the Shipyard and was the Nuclear Power Project Engineer for the First Submarine nuclear power plant overhaul. As the head of the Nuclear Reactor Engineering Division of the Nuclear Engineering Department, he was responsible for implementing the nuclear reactor refueling operations in the shipyard and directing the first three submarine refueling. Mr. Day was a member of the Shipyard College Engineering Recruiting Team that was established to recruit these critically needed skills for employment. He personally recruited over two hundred engineering graduates, mostly from Clemson University, The University of South Carolina, and The University of Tennessee. As the Shipyard Director of Management Engineering, Mr. Day was involved in most all aspects of the shipyard operations and improvements. He maintained a close relationship with the State's powerful Congressional Delegation that played a vital role in the area of shipyard facility modernization and workload. Mr. Day was the recipient of the Washington, D.C. Naval Sea System Command's Superior Service Award, the highest award presented to a civilian by the Command. In 1984 Mr. Day was cited in the United States Senate Congressional Record for his involvement in the shipyard receiving The Naval Material Commands Productivity Improvement Excellence Award. Mr. Day served in the United States Army on active duty for two years with the 703rd Ordinance Battalion at Ft. Benning, Georgia and six years in the United States Army Reserves in the 304th Ordinance Battalion in Charleston. Mr. Day was a graduate of North Charleston Elementary and High School and Clemson University where he received a degree in Civil Engineering and commissioned as an Army Ordinance Officer. He was also a registered Professional Nuclear Engineer. Mr. Day was very loyal and appreciative of Clemson University where he served on the Board of Visitors, The Alumni National Council, and The Board of Directors for the Athletic Department Scholarship Fund (IPTAY), Chairman of the Charleston County IPTAY Organization and a member of the Tiger Lettermen Association. He received the Distinguished Alumni Service Award in 1991, and was an honorary member of Tau Beta Pi Engineering Society. Since retiring from the shipyard, he spent fourteen very satisfying years associated with The Trident Construction Company and seventeen years as a substitute teacher in Charleston County Schools. In 2000, The Happy Days and Special Times Association, which is dedicated to children with cancer, presented Mr. Day with the Reid Fairey Volunteer of The Year Award. Mr. Day was President of the Charleston Naval Shipyard Chapter of The Naval Civilian Managers Association for ten years and served as the National President in 1981. He served on the Advisory Board for Graduate Studies and Civil Engineering at The Citadel, The Riegel and Emory Human Resource Center at The University of South Carolina, The Work-Education Council at The College of Charleston, and the Civil Engineering Department at Clemson University and was their Chairman for two years, and the West Ashley High School Pre-Engineering Advisory Board. He also served on the City of Charleston Fair Break Committee, The Charleston Naval Base Redevelopment Authority, The Naval Base Memorial Monument Commission, and the shipyard team "In Defense of Charleston". He served for several years as an elected Commissioner on The Soil and Water Conservation Commission, and the President of The Stono Ferry Property Owners Association. In 2009, The Plantation at Stono Ferry Property Owners Association honored Mr. Day by naming the Amenity Field, The Jack T. Day Amenity Field in appreciation of his contributions and dedication to the community. He was a member of The Rotary Club of North Charleston for twenty six years and in 2009, the club presented Mr. Day with The Paul Harris Service Above Self Fellow Award. Mr. Day was a devout Christian and served many years as a Sunday School Teacher, Superintendent and Deacon. He also managed and played on the Church softball teams. He served on The Board of Trustees for the South Carolina Baptist Ministry for the Aging and was a member of the Ashley River Baptist Church. Mr. Day is predeceased by his parents, Theodore and Ossie Day, a sister, Berniece Ruth Day, two brothers, James Howard Day, and William Joseph Day. Mr. Day was known for his faith, loyalty, devotion to his family, and a strong will to live. He was best described by a friend as a patriot, family man and friend. He will be missed by his family and friends, dearly. It is with our deepest gratitude that the family of Jack Theodore Day would like to thank all of you who have meant so much to him and to all of us during his journey of faith. We were blessed to have Dr. Elizabeth Christian and the oncology nurses and staff at Charleston Hematology Oncology Associates, at Roper Hospital, and those at Hospice of America who provided such loving and supportive care of Jack and our family. In his words, " Yours in not a job, but a calling from above". You fulfilled that calling each day. The pharmacies at Costco and Publix dispensed not only Jacks medicines, but also offered words of comfort and encouragement. We also want to thank our friends in Stono Ferry. A special thanks to his friends at Trident Construction Company, The Rotary Club of North Charleston, the Charleston Soil and Water Commission, Clemson University, the students and staff at the Charleston County Schools where he taught and especially The County School of the Arts. He is survived by his precious wife of fifty-three years, Betty Galloway Day, a daughter, Millie Day Gregory and husband, William D. Gregory, Jr. of Raleigh, NC, a son, John William Day and wife Renu of Charleston, SC, two grandsons, Jordan Michael Gregory and wife Thea of Wilmington, NC and Benjamin Daniel Gregory and wife Shumaila of Raleigh, NC, a sister, Betty Day Lightsey and husband David of Greenwood, SC, a brother, Fred L. Day of Summerville, SC and several nieces and nephews. Memorial contributions may be made to the new West Ashley Roper St. Francis Cancer Center, 125 Doughty Street, Suite 500, Charleston, SC 29401 or to Hospice Care of America, Inc., 9217 University Blvd., Suite C1D, North Charleston, SC 29406-9147. Visit our guestbook at www.postandcourier.com/deaths