He was born July 12th 1933 in Scranton Pennsylvania. He was the first born son to Elizabeth and John Lahr. His brother Don was born a few years later. The Lahr family was very close and had many members. Jack was very lucky to have had five aunts and one uncle on his mother's side, and a very close uncle on his father's side. He grew up poor, but not unhappy in the coal mining culture of Scranton.
His uncle on his father's side, Warren Lahr, played football for the Cleveland Browns. This was very inspiring for Jack, so he played with much success in high school. When it came time for college, all of his high school football fame bought him a full ride scholarship to Western Reserve, Ohio State. There he studied all of the wonderful things of college life; including fun parties and little academics. He learned from this endeavor though, and after not being successful at Western Reserve, he chose the life of a soldier.
He served in the army during the Korean War. He was never deployed however. He worked in his unit stationed in Texas for four years. After his service, he applied for a GI Bill and then applied to Humboldt State University to pursue his degree more seriously this time.
He began his studies in sciences and math. He decided his interests really lent themselves to Wildlife and the outdoors. He received his Baccalaureate degree in Wildlife Biology from Humboldt State University.
He first went to work in the back hills of Utah, at natural Bridges State Park. Working for the Park Service was an active and educational experience for Jack. He found it highly rewarding being able to hike in the natural beauty that Utah held, and enjoyed educating the public as well.
He would return to Pennsylvania rarely. When he did, he would bring back vivid tales of his adventures seeing wildlife and all of it's glory and terrors. His family was quite proud of him being a college graduate, career man, who was quickly turning into a naturalist and environmental conservationist.
He worked for the Park Service in Arizona for many years in the 60's. There on his trusty horse Slewfoot, he would ride the canyons and desert for miles. He loved the beautiful Arizona scenery. He began his consrvationist bravery one day when the Bureaucrats decided Burro Creek was overgrazed by the wild burros that habitated the area near Wickenburg and Nothing, Arizona. He convinced enough people to be on the side of saving and preserving the land and making it a park. They did, and to this day, Burro Creek State park contains wild burros who do not overgraze the land. Now it is a beautiful place to hike, camp, rock hound and play. Jack found a way to save it for the public. He began to learn to be a diplomat in the intense bureaucratic labyrinth of government service.
