John Howard “Jack” Paulton, age 90, of Hot Springs, SD, passed away on September 8, 2016, at the VA Medical Center in Hot Springs. 

Jack was born in Omaha, NE, to Howard and Gertrude (Peycke) Payne on June 14, 1926. He graduated from Sioux Falls Washington High School in 1944, and immediately joined the U.S. Navy, serving in the Pacific as a gunner’s mate on the on a destroyer escort. After the war, Jack graduated from South Dakota State. 

In 1951, Jack married Ellen Gilliland and soon after went to work for the Federal Land Bank in Rapid City, SD. In 1958, they bought a cattle ranch west of Hermosa, where they worked and raised five children. In 1974, they moved to a ranch southwest of Custer, which they operated until retiring in 1997. 

Jack was always involved in the community, serving for 22 years on local school boards. He also served on the board of the South Dakota Farm Bureau and was engaged in numerous conservative causes on behalf of our state and nation. 

While Jack had always been a nominal Christian, the defining point in his life came in 1971, when he trusted in Jesus Christ as his Savior. For decades thereafter, he served in church leadership and helped found Christian schools in Rapid City and Custer. Since moving to the Hot Springs area in 1997, Jack and Ellen have hosted countless missionary families. 

Jack is survived by his wife of 65 years, Ellen Paulton of Hot Springs; sons, Bill (Susan) Paulton of Custer, SD; John (Sandy) Paulton of Colorado Springs, CO; daughters, Sally (Clayton) Chord of Edgemont, SD; Robin (Larry) Reinhold of Sturgis, SD; 14 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren. 

Jack is preceded in death by his parents; son, Jim Paulton; brother, Gilbert Paulton and granddaughter, Laura Chord. 

Memorial services will be held 11:00 a.m., Monday, September 12, 2016, at the Calvary Baptist Church in Hot Springs with Pastor Matt Lim officiating.