After spending the weekend with his family Jack Eugene Giroux, 89, of Monroe, Mich., passed away peacefully in his sleep on Monday, March 18, from complications of dementia at Seacrest Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Monroe, Mich., where he was receiving hospice care.
He was born in Toledo, Ohio, on Jan. 23, 1935, to Henry Burton Giroux and Helen Audrey (Knapp) Giroux. Jack was a 1953 graduate of Waite High School, where he played football and basketball all four years. Although his football injuries included a separated shoulder, broken nose and broken ankle, he said he would do it again in a heartbeat. He was later inducted into the Waite High School Athletic Hall of Fame.
Jack's talents on the gridiron earned him a football scholarship to Bowling Green State University (BGSU), in Bowling Green, Ohio. As co-captain of the 1956 MAC Championship Team, Jack Giroux earned three letters in football and was named to the All-American, All-Ohio and All-MAC teams at fullback his senior year. "Jarrin' Jack" as he was nicknamed could always be relied on to pick up positive yardage. He played his best game on Oct. 27, 1956, rushing 21 times for 100 yards in a 34-12 win over Marshall. Jack was named team MVP that season and became only the second Falcon to play in the Blue-Gray All-Star Game, following teammate Jack Hecker, who played in the game the year before. The 1956 Blue-Gray Game was played in Montgomery, Ala. The players selected formed the North and South teams. One of the coaches for the South team was legendary coach Paul "Bear" Bryant, who at that time was the head coach at Texas A&M. Players on the North team were from several Big Ten schools and other larger Division I Universities. Jack considered it a great honor to be selected to represent BGSU. He finished his career with 1,046 rushing yards.
Jack graduated with a business degree in 1957, receiving the Distinguished Service Award from the president of the university. In 1980, it was his great honor and privilege to be inducted into the Bowling Green State University Athletic Hall of Fame. Jack also received numerous offers to play professional football. Most notable were drafting offers from the Green Bay Packers, Baltimore Colts and Pittsburgh Steelers. He received a free agent contract from Pittsburgh. He declined the offers to join the Army National Guard in Toledo. Yet football remained close to Jack's heart, and he later said, "I made a mistake in not accepting offers to play. At least I should have tried."
Jack served six years with six months active duty and 5 1/2 years of reserve requirement. After completing his National Guard Service, he married his high school sweetheart, Bonnie L. Myrice, on Sept. 19, 1959. Jack started his career with Johns-Manville's Fiber Glass Division in Defiance, Ohio, that same year, as a management trainee. He then became a production foreman for several years. Jack went on to spend another 19 years with the company in human resources. His career took the young couple from Defiance to New Orleans, La., and back to Defiance, where their daughter, Joette, was born in 1968. One of the highlights of his career was moving the family to Willows, Calif., in 1973 to start a fiberglass insulation plant. Jack and the plant manager arrived to do most of the groundwork, which included the building of the plant and hiring personnel to operate it. The plant is still in operation today.
The family moved back to the Midwest in 1978, when Jack accepted a position in human resources and labor relations with Michigan Gas Utilities, in Monroe, Mich. He retired from the company after 15 years and went on to work for Renhill, a temporary employment service, located in Perrysburg, Ohio, for the next five years before retiring for good in 1998. In addition to human resources, Jack was proud to negotiate numerous successful labor contracts between his companies and the unions throughout his career. He was a member of the Omega Lodge of Defiance, the Rotary Club of Monroe, the BGSU Falcon Club and the Toledo Zoo.
Jack is survived by his wife of 64 years, Bonnie (Myrice) Giroux, of Monroe; daughter, Joette Giroux; grandson, Logan Phillips; granddaughter, Jordan Phillips; and former son-in-law, Dan Phillips, all of Fairview, Tenn.
A private burial will take place on Friday at Roselawn Memorial Park, in La Salle.
The family requests that donations in Jack's name be made to the BGSU Falcon Club Scholarship and Success Fund. Visit falconfunded.bgsu.edu for more information.
Online condolences and special memories may be shared with the family by visiting the obituary page at www.bacarellafuneralhome.com .