The Rev. John L. (Jack) Huber passed away after a courageous and determined fight against cancer, surrounded by his family, on September 30, 2026.
Jack was born in Wilmington, Delaware, on February 8, 1948, to the late Lawrence J. and Marian R. Huber, née Lung. In 1978, he married Joyce M. Huber, née Timney, who survives him, as do his daughters, Kristina R. McCausland and her husband, Chris, of Santa Barbara, California, and Rachel E. Huber and her partner, Evan Chapin, of Wilmington. He is also survived by his sister, Nancy E. Dutkin and her husband Peter, of Pittsfield, Maine, and three beloved grandchildren, Tanner, Millie, and Cody McCausland. He was preceded in death by his older brother, Thomas B. Huber.
Although Jack owned fish, mice, cats, pigeons, and dogs, he was a “dog person,” hands-down! Be it not forgotten that he also leaves behind his beloved Yorkshire terrier, Finnley.
Jack spent most of his life in northern Delaware, where he attended Krebs and Richardson Park Elementary and Middle Schools, as well as Conrad High School and Brandywine High School, where he graduated in 1966. He continued his education at Chowan University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he earned a B.A. in Psychology in 1970. He was an avid anti-war protester, but he opted to forgo the Canadian option to avoid a possible tour in Vietnam. In December 1970, he was drafted into the Army and assigned to a computer-based training research project at the Human Resources Research Organization (HumRRO) in Alexandria, Virginia. After the Army, Jack continued in the field of information technology at Boeing, Alco Standard Corporation, NVF Company, ICI Americas, and again at Boeing’s Philadelphia Rotorcraft site, where he retired in 2014 as a software integrator and portfolio manager for factory automation and robotics applications.
Jack was a religious man, but he was not always reverent. When asked to describe his career, which included Boeing, the Methodist Church, and AstraZeneca, he often said it was like a big Boeing sandwich, with God and drugs on the inside.
In 1996, Jack earned a Master of Divinity degree from Lancaster Theological Seminary, where he was honored with the Edith Faith Award for academic excellence. While pursuing his degree and ordination in the United Methodist Church, he obtained a local pastor’s license and served Moore’s Chapel and Saint John’s churches in Elkton, Maryland. Beginning in 1996, he worked on the pastoral staff at Aldersgate Church in Fairfax, Delaware, where he led pastoral visitation and facilitated congregational programs including Religion and Race and Outreach. At Aldersgate, Jack also provided the startup leadership for the church’s Health Ministry and Stephen Ministry programs. He was ordained a Deacon in 1995 and an Elder in 1998. More recently, Jack was active in Newark United Methodist Church, where he launched and participated in adult education classes. Jack’s home church was Hockessin United Methodist Church.
Throughout his life, Jack enjoyed traveling. During high school, he traveled to Europe for the first time. In the next decade, he traveled to many western states and made other trips abroad for business and pleasure. He hiked the Grand Canyon, the Grand Teton and, too many times to count, Old Rag Mountain in Sperryville, Virginia. He had fond memories of his trips to Scotland and Ireland, frequent family camping trips with adoptive families to Camp Swatara in Pennsylvania, and numerous vacations in Maine, where he hiked Mount Katahdin on two occasions. His most cherished excursion took place in 1991, when he and Joyce traveled to Changzhou, China, to adopt their youngest daughter, Rachel.
Throughout his life and into retirement, Jack maintained his love of the outdoors, walking, gardening, and camping. When indoors, he enjoyed reading about those things. His latest avocation was cooking, and he enjoyed preparing meals for family gatherings. There was nothing he liked more than spatchcocking a turkey at Thanksgiving, his favorite holiday!
Although his father and sister were gifted musically, Jack was an abject failure as a musician. It seemed that practice made him much less perfect, evidenced by the sound rejection he received from his sixth-grade music teacher after his attempts to find his voice in the school chorus. Over the years, he tried the clarinet, saxophone, guitar, violin, piano, and harmonica. The kazoo was even a challenge for Jack! In spite of it all, he loved all music, and a day never passed when he didn’t enjoy music in some way. He said, “I can’t carry a tune in a bucket, but I live with a ton of music I enjoy right in my head.” Jack loved the blues but also opera. His musical tastes were certainly eclectic, attested to by the range of concerts he attended over the years, from B.B. King, Jimi Hendrix, and The Temptations to Bob Dylan, Arthur Fiedler, Doc Watson, and Renée Fleming.
A celebration of his life will be held on Saturday, October 17, 2026, at Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Wilmington, Delaware. Family and friends are invited to gather for coffee and light refreshments beginning at 10:30 a.m., followed by the service at 11:30 a.m.
To honor his memory, his family encourages you to do something kind for someone who needs it, share a meal with someone you love, or take a walk in nature and notice the beauty around you. Those wishing to make a memorial contribution may consider the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute or the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.
To send an online condolence please visit www.mccreryandharra.com
