Jack Everitt Dison

Jack Everitt Dison, 80, of Amarillo, passed away on January 10, 2025, with his family by his bedside.

The Celebration of Life will be at 10 a.m., Monday, March 10, 2025, at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church. Arrangements are by Boxwell Brothers Funeral Directors, 2800 Paramount Blvd.

Jack was born in Amarillo on August 11, 1944, to Frances Lucille Dison and Everitt Murphy Dison. He grew up in Amarillo, attended Amarillo public schools, and graduated from Tascosa High School in 1962. He attended Oklahoma City University on a track scholarship, earning a B.A. in Philosophy. He furthered his education obtaining an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of North Texas.

Jack’s distinguished thirty-five-year academic career as a professor of Sociology, Criminology, and Criminal Justice took him to Oklahoma City University, The University of Memphis, and Arkansas State University, where he served as a professor and Dean of the Department of Sociology and Criminology. Upon retirement, Jack moved to the Bay Area of California and became a graduate student once again. He earned an M.T.S. in Theology at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley and an M.A. in Conflict Management and Peacemaking at Fresno Pacific University. This marked the beginning of his second career: practicing restorative justice in the San Francisco Bay Area through the nonprofits Insight Prison Project and Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth. Restorative justice became his life’s passion, and he continued volunteering in local prison ministries in Amarillo. He also dedicated his time to the Panhandle Adult Rebuilding Center (PARC), served actively as a layperson at Saint Andrew’s Episcopal Church, and participated in various Centering Prayer and meditation groups.

Jack was a teacher, a life-long student, an avid reader, an author, a communicator, a friend, a mentor, a father, a grandfather, a great-grandfather, and a devoted husband. His servant’s heart and enduring love for God and His creation guided and sustained him throughout his life.

Jack and his first wife, Zoe Linda Green, had two children, James and Julie. In 2014, he reconnected with his long-time friend, Pat Hill Cathcart, at their 50th Tascosa High School class reunion. They married on April 5, 2014, in Amarillo.

Jack is preceded in death by his parents, his sister, Janice Laseter, and his son, James Dison. He is survived by his wife, Pat; his daughter, Julie Dison (Jacky Canada) of Nacogdoches, Texas; his granddaughter, Jessica Dison of Tulsa, Oklahoma; and three great-grandchildren, Lakota, Corbyn, and Zoë. He is also survived by his brother-in-law, Bill Laseter of Kempner, Texas, along with a niece, a nephew, and their families, as well as his extended family by marriage—Pat’s children and grandchildren.

The family extends heartfelt gratitude to Jack’s caregivers, Erika Lowe and LJ Archie, for their compassionate care, and to the clergy of Saint Andrew’s Episcopal Church for their unwavering love and support.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be in Jack’s memory to one of the following organizations or a charity of your choice:

• PARC, P.O. Box 802, Amarillo, TX 79115

• Heal the City, 609 S. Carolina Street, Amarillo, TX 79106

• Saint Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Beloved Community Fund, 1601 S. Georgia, Amarillo, TX 79102