Jack Merritt Sink

Jack Merritt Sink
May 23, 1929 – June 17, 2020

Jack Merritt Sink went to be with the Lord on Wednesday, June 17, 2020. A son of the late
Sam Sink and Ladosca Clay Sink, he was born in Mount Hope, West Virginia. He was
married to Jo Ella Nuckols on June 11, 1955, and they recently celebrated 65 years of
marriage.
Jack attended the University of West Virginia, where he received a bachelor’s degree in
chemistry and a master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling by 1961. Jack joined the
faculty at Auburn University as an Assistant Professor while he completed his doctorate
degree in 1970. He was promoted to Associate Professor & Director of Rehabilitation and
Special Services. In 1973, he accepted an Associate Professor position in Rehabilitation
Counseling at the University of Georgia and moved the family to Athens, GA. Jack worked
at the University of Georgia until 1991, advancing to Professor and receiving $4.5M in grant
funds for research, training, and services over the course of his career.
As a professor, Jack had a true passion for mentoring and helping others. Before retiring
from UGA, he established an independent company (Sink & Associates) providing
rehabilitation counseling services and individual care plans that helped hundreds of people.
Jack will be long remembered for his gentle nature, his kindness to others, and for his
contributions to the field of rehabilitation.
A loving husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather who lived for his family, Jack is
survived by his wife, Jo Ella Sink; three sons, Merritt Sink (Charlotte, NC), Scott Sink
(Birmingham, AL), and Dwayne Sink (Chattanooga, TN); four grandchildren, Christina
Smith, Laura Sink, Brittany Chitwood, and Taylor Sink; great-grandson Ian Thomas Smith;
two sister-in-laws, Pat Sink and Sue Wilson; two daughter-in-laws, Anne Sink and Linda
Sink; and two grandson-in-laws, Tyler Smith and Paul Chitwood.
Jack loved the Lord and was a member of the Tuckston United Methodist Church in Athens,
GA for 47 years, where he established a Sunday School class in 1976 that is still very active
today. Jack also enjoyed traveling, golf, UGA football, and singing.
A celebration of life service honoring Jack M. Sink will be held at Tuckston United Methodist
Church in Athens, GA later in the summer of 2020.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to be made in memory of Jack to Orange
Grove Center, 615 Derby Street, Chattanooga, TN 37404.