John Randolph Jeter, Jr.

Colonel John Randolph Jeter, Jr., known always as Jack, died peacefully on May 3, 2025, at Tryon Estates in Columbus, NC. Jack was a beloved husband, father to three, grandfather to four, great-grandfather to two, brother, uncle, cousin and friend.

Jack was born in Tientsin, China, on April 15, 1932, son of the late Colonel John R. and Sara R. Jeter of Union, SC. As Army brats, Jack and his sister, Ann, traveled extensively with their parents and collected memories that lasted a lifetime. Jack decided early on that his life would parallel his father’s, as he too would choose a life of service to his country.

Jack enrolled in the Citadel in 1950 hoping for an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point. He entered West Point the following year. After graduation in 1955, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the US Army. In 1957, he entered flight school at Camp Gary, TX, and met the 19-year-old beauty, Katherine Terrell Feagin of San Antonio. A co-ed at the University of Texas, she would become the love of his life. Katherine’s brother, the late John A. Feagin, Jr., was also a member of the West Point Class of 1955.

Jack and Katherine would crisscross the globe with their three children, Sally, John, and Stephen. Through 67 years of marriage, they cultivated legions of lifelong friends, shared their faith and talents inside and outside the Episcopal Church, and worked to make the world a better place.

Jack served in the Army for 26 years in various command and staff assignments including two tours in Vietnam as an Army aviator. His final assignment was with the Army Inspector General’s Office at the Pentagon. He retired from the Army in 1981 as a Colonel. He earned awards and decorations that include the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star, the Air Medal with eight oak leaf clusters, the Army Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters, the Army Commendation Medal, Senior Army Aviator wings, the Parachutist Badge and the US Army Ranger tab signifying elite combat readiness. Jack was proud of his service and grateful to his family for sharing his journey.

Jack and Katherine moved to Union, SC after he retired from the Army. Jack became President of the family business, The Jeter Stores, a chain of NAPA Auto Parts Stores. For more than a decade, he was honored to work alongside his father and served as a board member of the Union County Chamber of Commerce, the USC Educational Foundation, the Union County Vocational Center Advisory Council, Commander of Post 22 of the American Legion, and President of the Union Rotary Club.

In 1989, Jack and Katherine moved to Spartanburg to be closer to their grandchildren and their mountain home at Lake Toxaway, NC. In Spartanburg, Jack shared his lifelong skill as an artist with the Spartanburg County Museum of Art.

Jack and Katherine joined a new community in 2018 with their move to Tryon Estates. Their lives have been enriched by cherished friendships there and at Holy Cross Episcopal Church in Tryon.

Surviving in addition to his wife are a daughter, Sally Jeter Gregg, and her husband, Scott; son, John R. Jeter III, and wife, Kathy Laughlin; daughter-in-law Melanie Jeter; sister Ann Jeter Baldwin of Norfolk, VA; four adored grandchildren, Sara Katherine Wade (John Thad), Madison Jeter Coleman (William), Matthew Lawrence Hammond (Lee), John Wilson Hammond (Erica); and two great-grandchildren. Jack and Katherine’s youngest son, Stephen Terrell Jeter (Melanie) died in 2022.

Jack epitomized the fruits of the Spirit. He was dedicated to the West Point values: “Duty, Honor, Country.” He lived the words of the West Point Cadet Prayer: “Encourage us in our endeavor to live above the common level of life. Make us choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong… And grant us new ties of friendship and new opportunities of service.” And from the West Point Alma Mater: “May it be said, ‘Well done.’”

A Celebration of Life will be held at the Chapel at Tryon Estates at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 31. A private burial with military honors will take place at the Jeter Family Cemetery, just miles from Jack’s ancestral home. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial gifts be made to The Jeter Family Cemetery (c/o Central Carolina Community Foundation, 2142 Boyce St., Suite 402, Columbia, SC, 29201) or the West Point Association of Graduates (Attn: Gift Operations, 698 Mills Rd., West Point, NY, 10996).

Sanders Funeral Home.

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