Jack Sallee

COOKEVILLE, TN/JACKSON HOLE, WY- Clarence Dewitt “Jack” Sallee died of complications from metastatic cancer on August 23, 2024, at the age of 82 in his beloved home in the woods in Cookeville. Born October 26, 1941, to Aubyn Hazel Kennedy and Clarence Dewitt Sallee in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, Jack was a Cookeville High School teacher and locally recognized musician in Putnam County and in Jackson Hole, Wyoming where he enjoyed summers.

Grateful for the kindness Cookeville offered him when he moved here from Nashville as a teenager, joined the football team, and made life-long friends, the local high school was his start in the community and where he made his career. After he completed his Masters in History at Tennessee Tech, he made a career in teaching. “Mr. Sallee” is remembered by multiple generations of students for how he challenged them to think and write critically. He pressed students to assess the forces of power and what it has taken to make life more fair for more people in this country. He appreciated his students were often dealing with hard things besides school and that growing up is difficult. He liked teaching and remained keenly interested in learning and thinking about today’s challenges.

Jack loved music, dogs, and nature. He played the banjo with many Tennesse bands - Calfkiller Ramblers, Piney Pickers, Frazier Moss String Bank, Sheep Bluff Polo Club, Sheep Trick, - won statewide banjo championships and played on the Grand Ole Opry. During his summers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, he became a regular at the Hootenanny at Dornan’s and played gigs with Shelley and Kelly Reubrecht. Many musicians will remember pickin’ with him in Tennessee and Wyoming. In later life, he returned to playing flamenco guitar, a love he first had as a young man, and continued to play daily until the last week of his life. He also loved attending the symphony or listening to his favorite classical music.

Ever since his childhood dog Fuzzy accompanied him to school, was stolen, and returned with a chewed rope around his neck, he loved dogs and the adventures of bird-hunting with them. An accomplished hunter, mountain climber, backpacker, and angler, Jack loved the outdoors, especially the Tetons and many of the wild areas of Wyoming. He felt proud of this country for preserving wild spaces and was dedicated to conservation and environmental causes.

Jack is survived by the love of his life Kathy Bertram and their dog Bonnie. He also leaves behind her daughter Amy Bertram (John Sellberg) of Cookeville, his son Sam Sallee (Brinna Sallee) of Cookeville; his daughter Shelley Sallee (Wallis Goodman) of Austin, Texas and his nephew Patrick Sallee (Mandy Sallee) of Asheville, North Carolina. His grandchildren Kate Goodman of Washington, DC, Henry Goodman of Austin, Texas, Judah Sallee of Tempe, Arizona, and Aubyn Sallee and his great nieces Claire and Evelyn Sallee kept his heart full of hope. His family aspires to keep his values of integrity, fairness, and tolerance alive.

There will be a celebration of life at a later date. Donations can be made in his memory to the Nature Conservancy https://www.nature.org/en-us/membership-and-giving/donate-to-our-mission/

Or Trust for Public Land https://www.tpl.org/

Hooper,Huddleston & Horner Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements (931)526-6111. Share memories and condolences at www.hhhfunerals.com.