John Clarke “Jack” McColl, 78, of Marysville, passed away Monday, August 29, 2022 after a lengthy battle with colon cancer.
He was born May 14, 1944 in Port Huron to the late Duncan J. and Margaret E. McColl.
Jack was a long-time resident of Marysville. He graduated from Marysville High School where he was a member of the 1961 Vikings football team which won the State Class B Football Championship. He was selected to the Class B All State team as an offensive and defensive lineman, but was more proud of the fact that his teammates voted him to be team captain.
Jack turned down a football scholarship from the University of Wisconsin to attend his beloved University of Michigan. After graduating from the University of Michigan Law School he accepted a position with the Michigan Court of Appeals in Lansing as a clerk. He returned to the Port Huron area and spent a year as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney with the St. Clair County Prosecutor’s Office. Jack then joined the Port Huron law firm of Cummings, Monaghan, Thomas and McColl. He was later the senior partner of the McIntosh, McColl Law Firm. Jack was highly regarded by his fellow lawyers for his legal acumen, civility and high ethical standards. He was a former President of the St. Clair County Bar Association. His trial record was stellar.
Jack was a huge life-long University of Michigan football fan and held season tickets for over 50 years. He never missed a spring game until his recent illness prevented it. He even survived a trip to Columbus for a Wolverine-Buckeye game. Jack was also a faithful Detroit Tiger fan since his boyhood and counted himself lucky to have been in Tiger Stadium when the Tigers won the 1984 World Series. Jack was fiercely proud of his Scottish heritage and was known to enjoy a Highland malt (or two) on occasion. Some of his eclectic interests included politics, economic theory and traditional Hawaiian music. He also possessed a keen wit and was an entertaining storyteller. Perhaps one of his friends put it best when he said that Jack was “ a great lawyer, but an even better person.”
He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Yvonne Smith McColl; brother, William D. McColl of Seattle, Washington; step-brothers, David Beck of Boise, Idaho and James Beck of Wausau, Wisconsin; as well as numerous beloved nieces, nephews, cousins, friends and other relatives. He was preceded in death by his father, Circuit Judge Elect Duncan J. McColl Jr.; and his mother, Margaret McColl Beck.
Visitation will be from 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. on Friday, September 2, 2022 in Pollock-Randall Funeral Home.
Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, September 3, 2022 in Pollock-Randall Funeral Home. The Reverend James Rizer will officiate.
Burial will be in Lakeside Cemetery, Port Huron.
Memorial contributions may be made to Blue Water Area Humane Society or the Helen McColl Alexander Scholarship Fund at SC4 . To send condolences, visit pollockrandall.com
