John M. “Jack” Webster, 91 of Kouts, passed away Sunday, January 12, 2025. He was born October 10, 1933, in Harrisburg, PA to the late Edward S. and E. Hilda (Bateman) Webster. In September 1955, he married Janet Lee Bayne, in Baltimore, MD. She was the daughter of Joseph and Kathryn Bayne. He is survived by his son, John M. (Debra) Webster, Jr. of Odessa, FL; grandchildren: Dara (Charles) Hale, Patrick (Naomi) Webster, Stacey Webster, Shera Diaz, Robert Webster, Chelsea (Ashley) Webster, and Christine Webster; and great-grandchildren: Grace and Joshua Hale, and Liam John Alan Webster. He was preceded in death by his wife of 66 ½ years, Janet, and sons, Michael and Mark.
He graduated from the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, an all-male public high school in Baltimore which emphasized engineering and job training courses, graduating in June of 1951. During his school years, he was an avid musician, playing the trombone, and played with all of the schools’ bands and orchestras, including the Baltimore Colts marching and swing bands. The biggest highlight was marching in the Miss America parade in Atlantic City with the Colts band. He also played in an unlimited softball league and unlimited basketball league at fifteen. In June 1955, he graduated from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute in Blacksburg, VA with a BS in Industrial Engineering and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers. He spent six months on active duty in 1956, four and a half years in the active reserves and three years in inactive reserves. The last year of active reserves he served as a Company Commander of the 1077th Light Boat Company. (A Battalion started with engineers who were cut back by the government. Landing craft used to belong to the Engineers.) He was discharged in 1963 as a Captain as a member of the regimental band. He played for many football games, including the Oyster Bowl and Tobacco Bowl, and parades, including the Inaugural parade for the Governor of Virginia, and the Inaugural parade for President Eisenhower, where the band won the first of three consecutive awards for being the best adult band in the parade. He was also a member of Pi Delta Epsilon, an honorary journalism fraternity stemming from him being the Program Director of the campus radio station WUVT during his senior year.
In July of 1955, he went to work for Bethlehem Steel in their Loop Course training program at Bethlehem, PA. In September, he was transferred to their Sparrows Point Plant. He participated in the start up of a new unit of four 500 fpm Continuous Anneal Lines for processing tinplate for the can industry. Three of the Lines were updated to run faster than their designed speed. In 1960, he was assigned to complete Bethlehem’s first training manual, which was for a 2000 fpm CA Line, set up a training course, teach it and supervise the startup and get it to full operation. In 1964, he was transferred to be a member of the startup team for Bethlehem’s new flagship plant at Burns Harbor. He was involved with the engineering, hiring personnel, training manual, training course, and startup of another 2000 fpm CA Line. In 1982, he became involved in a Cold Rolled Continuous Anneal Line utilizing Japanese technology to produce a new family of high strength steel, primarily for the automobile industry. He made three trips to Japan in 1982 and 1983 (came back thru Hawaii). He wrote a paper and presented it at an AISI meeting in Toronto. He also was involved in the conversion of a Halogen Electro Tin Plate Line to an Electro Galvanize Line for automotive material. When the Superintendent took his term as Committee Chair of the light flat roll Committee of the AISI, he attended all of the meetings with him, including Monterey, Mexico and Montreal, Canada (did all of the prep and after work and even ran part of one meeting). He was also the mill’s operating rep at the General Motors Stamping Plants in Flint, MI, visiting them monthly. Even took a course at General Motors Institute. Also visited a GM Plant in Marian, IN on complaints. When he retired in 1992, he was the Plant’s Assistant Coordinator for the engineering and installation of a 60” Continuous Hot Dip Galvanize Line. Son Mike was a member of the team in charge of data processing.
In 1956, he joined the Corinthian Masonic Lodge in Baltimore. The day after being raised to Master Mason, he was honored at the Masonic Home Harvest Celebration for being the youngest Master Mason in the State of Maryland. In 1973, he joined the South Bend Ancient Accepted Scottish, which made him a 32nd Degree Mason. In 1978, he joined Orak Shrine Temple in Hammond. Temple was later moved to Michigan City. He joined the Temple Guard where he marched in the parades, district meetings, and National Conventions. Some time later he joined the Knights Templar, another organization of 32nd degree Masons. In 1966, he monitored a nonpartisan course in Practical Politics for the Chamber of Commerce. This course was presented at Bethlehem Steel earlier. In the 1990’s, he served 1 ½ terms on the Kouts Planning Commission, replacing Bill Hathaway when he passed away.
He joined the First Presbyterian Church in 1966 and was ordained as an Elder in 1967. He spent nearly half of his tenure as the Clerk of the Session, or Treasurer or both at the same time, starting in the 90’s up to the present. Early on, he served on the Long-Range Planning Committee, and the Site Committee that led up to the new church. He also participated in the selection and purchase of the new organ and pipes in use today, and in numerous repairs or alterations, including the addition of a canopy over the front entrance. He is also a Charter member of the Chesterton Moose Lodge, which was chartered in 1972. This was primarily Bethlehem employees when it started.
A visitation will be held on Wednesday, January 15, 2025, from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Cornerstone Community Church, 605 S. Maple St., Kouts, IN, with a funeral service beginning at 2:00 p.m. Burial will follow at Graceland Cemetery, Kouts. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Shriners Children’s, PO Box 947765, Atlanta, GA 30394.
