Jack Wyant

Jack Earl Wyant, 87, of Cape Girardeau passed away Friday, Jan. 20, 2017, at his home.

He was born Oct. 7, 1929, in Sao Paulo, son of Jesse and Barbara Steele Wyant. He and Juanita West were married May 24, 2006.

Jack was a member and ordained elder of First Presbyterian Church in Cape Girardeau. He attended Whiteworth College in Spokane, Washington; then transferred to McAllister School of Journalism in St. Paul, Minnesota, and graduated from Washington State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in journalism.

Jack served in the United States Army from 1951 to 1953; he was honorably discharged and transferred to the Army Reserves and completed eight years of service. In 1958, he joined the U.S. Foreign Service and was first assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Havana; then to Lima, Peru, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janiero, along with many other Latin American countries.

He moved to Washington, D.C., to work as a member of the White House Press Corps. Jack held positions as a U.S. information officer and press attaché, translating for U.S. dignitaries. He was also a Voice of America broadcaster to countries in Latin America. He broadcast events such as the John F. Kennedy assassination and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

Loving survivors include his wife; a daughter; two stepdaughters; a sister; and a brother.

A graveside service with military honors will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Missouri Veterans Cemetery in Bloomfield.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may take the form of contributions to Southeast Hospice.

Online condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.mccombsfuneralhome.com.

Arrangements by McCombs Funeral Home in Cape Girardeau.