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Jack Twitty of Albuquerque passed away on Sunday August 24 at the VA hospital in Albuquerque following surgery for a broken hip and a long battle with emphysema, congestive heart failure, and adult-onset diabetes. He was born October 28, 1920, in Heath Springs, South Carolina. He is survived by his sons David Twitty of Las Cruces and Jack M. Twitty, daughter-in-law Nancy Twitty, granddaughter Ashley N. Twitty, and grandson Jackson H. Twitty of San Cristobal NM. Sister Gladys Barich of Albuquerque, several nephews and nieces, and Godson Scott Addison of Red River also survive him. His youngest son Steven G. Twitty, his two older brothers Lawrence and Willis, and his older sister Sarah Brigman and brother-in-law Campbell Brigman preceded him in death. Jack was a native of Heath Springs South Carolina. After completing high school, he completed a 4-year machinist' apprenticeship at the US Naval yard in Charleston South Carolina and finished at the top of his class of 600. After completion of his apprenticeship, he joined the US Navy in 1943 and was stationed on the US aircraft carrier Lake Champlain, on which he served in the European theatre during World War II. The USS lake Champlain protected convoys and carried supplies to the British Isles many times. He was awarded the Purple Heart and was honorably discharged in 1946. After his discharge from the US Navy, Jack worked as a master machinist at Springs Mills in Virginia and Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. He married Sandra Manchester of Ardsley, NY in 1950. Jack and Sandra had a son, David, in 1953, and moved to Albuquerque in 1954. A second son, Jack M. was born to Jack and Sandra in 1955 in Albuquerque, as was third son Steven G. in 1957. Jack worked as a master machinist, foreman, and shift supervisor for ACF in Albuquerque from 1954 to 1967. Following his divorce from Sandra Twitty in 1968, he moved back to South Carolina and worked for Avco-Lycoming for two years and for Applied Engineering from 1971 until his retirement in 1988. He designed and built many unique machine tools during his career, and companies he worked for patented several of the machine tools he designed. He was a world-class machinist, and worked on many defense-related projects during his career. Jack was an avid reader, and read hundreds of books during his retirement. He was very intelligent and well read, and could discuss a wide variety of topics knowledgeably. He was an excellent bridge and cribbage player. He moved to Albuquerque in 1995 after living with his son David Twitty in Las Cruces for about a year. He was fiercely independent and bravely fought emphysema, adult-onset diabetes, and other ailments until the end. Simple services will be private and attended by family only in northern NM.
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