John "Jack" Browning

Madison - John R “Jack” Browning, after a very full life and with family by his side, Jack left this world peacefully on March 19, 2022. He was born in Orchard, NE, on February 13, 1928, to his parents Archibald and Lois (Clifton) Browning. As a child, he moved with his family to Omaha, where he attended Central High School and the University of Omaha.

After completing his service in the Navy, he returned to Omaha, where he met and married the love of his life, Janis (Colvin), and they were married on November 9, 1950. Jack had a long and successful sales career at IBM which brought him and his family to Madison. Discovering that it was one of the greatest places on earth to raise a family, he made the decision to put down permanent roots in the city and became a true “Madisonian.”After retiring from IBM, he fulfilled a long-time dream of owning his own business when he opened an Entre Computer Center on the south side of town.

Jack was a loving husband and father. His favorite hobbies outside of his family were golf, pheasant hunting, and fishing (especially for smallmouth bass). He passed his love of golf to his children and frequently would include them on hunting and fishing trips. However, his family would agree that probably his true passion was cars – particularly the process of buying and selling them! He even kept an alphabetical list of the cars he owned!

Jack loved to take road trips with the family. When the family was young, these trips were often back to Omaha to visit family. He would pack all eight children into the station wagon (before mini-vans!) and load the family’s belongings for the trip into the “war wagon.” He would help the kids pass the time on these trips with frequent games of “Speedometer Bingo” and the roadside “Alphabet Game” (before video games!). As their children grew, the trips continued as Jack and Jan would travel across the country to visit family and friends.

He is preceded in death by his parents, his beloved wife Janis, and daughter Melissa. He is survived by a loving family: his brother, Richard; his children, Barrett (Hildegard), Kevin (Kathleen), Michael (Jeanne), Timothy, Christopher (Jennifer), Angela (Jeff) Parks, and Benjamin; his grandchildren, Keith (Brandi), Andrew (Joanna), Kenneth (Meggin), Scott (Shen), Kathryn (Matt) Wallace, and Grace; and his great-grandchildren, Ryan, Ruby, Violet, Wyatt, Kayden, and Kooper.

The family would also like to thank all the staff at Attic Angel Place for the wonderful care they provided Jack during his time there. They clearly showed that they treated him as much as a friend as they did a patient.

A memorial service will be held at CRESS FUNERAL AND CREMATION SERVICE, 3610 Speedway Road, Madison, on Saturday, May 7, 2022, at 11:00 am. Burial will follow at Forest Hill Cemetery in Madison. A visitation will be held at the funeral home on Saturday, from 10:00 am until the time of service.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in memory of Jack can be made to the Madison Rotary Foundation, 2 S. Carroll St, Suite 255, Madison, WI 53703, or the Wisconsin Smallmouth Alliance, 2701 Gust Road, Verona, WI 53593.

Cress Funeral & Cremation Services

3610 Speedway Road

(608) 238-3434