John Henry Pool, III
We must give an earthly good-bye to our beloved brother, John Henry Pool III, 65, who died unexpectedly at home on Saturday, October 26, 2019. One of eleven siblings, he was a beloved son, brother, and uncle who always made time for his parents. He graduated from Memphis Catholic High School in 1972 and joined the Air Force in January 1973. After the Air Force he worked for various companies, including Ezon, Auto-Chlor & Sharp; later working as a millwright until his retirement in 2018. John cherished his family and his Louisiana roots. Some vacations were spent tending to century old graves in Tennessee and Louisiana, helping clean and reset headstones and rebuild burial crypts. He never traveled without his lifelong companions - a bottle of Tabasco sauce and a pepper shaker. He was kindhearted, well read, and inquisitive - he learned to rebuild houses and cars throughout his life and could salvage a heap over a period of months. His adventures began early in life when a Memphis newspaper reporter sent his teenage sons down the Mississippi River to deliver a boat to New Orleans purchasers. John was thrilled to join his friends on this trip downriver, which was chronicled in the Press Scimitar as the boys lived out their modern day "Huck Finn" adventure. Surely we only read the tame portions of their saga! He loved photography, music, football, hunting, and old movies. He enjoyed combing through second-hand book stores to satisfy his thirst for reading. Preceded in death by his parents, Charles Edward Pool Sr. and Beverly Juanita Lattier Pool, John leaves behind his siblings, Charlotte Pool of Southaven, MS, Denise Pool Key (Joe) and Camille Angele Pool-Owens (Tom) of Memphis, Clare Pool Gibson (Paul) of Olive Branch, MS, Charles Pool Jr. (Kirsten) of Cincinnati, Ohio, Joseph Pool, Jeanne Pool Nickelson (Keith), and David Pool of Memphis, Sara Pool of Spartanburg, SC, and Martie Pool of St. Petersburg, FL; his nephews Brett Stidham, Joseph Henry Pool, Brian Pool, and Gabriel Pool; a niece, Camille Pool; great nephew Brandon Stidham, and many cousins; all will miss him dearly. He was a gently giant of a man; his physique earned him the title of Tarzan several times by younger friends, and his wizened gray beard and long hair earned him a remembrance as "Grizzly Adams". Visitation will be 10:00 a.m. Saturday, November 16, 2019, at High Point Funeral Home, 3788 Summer Avenue, Memphis, Tennessee. A funeral mass will begin at 11:00 a.m. in the High Point Funeral Home Chapel, with interment immediately following at Elmwood Cemetery, 824 S. Dudley Street, Memphis, Tennessee, where he will join three generations of his family. In lieu of flowers, charitable donations can be made to Shelby County Veteran's Court, or the charity of your choice.
High Point Funeral Home & Crematorium
3788 Summer Avenue
Memphis, Tennessee 38122
901-454-5795