Jacob "Jack" Vrtar

Jacob “Jack” Vrtar went peacefully home on Christmas Night, December 25, 2020, to be with His Lord and Savior.

He was preceded in death by his mother, Johanna Orginc Vrtar; father, Marco Vrtar; sisters – Josephine Vrtar, Johanna Mendel, Mary Zupan; and his brother Marco Vrtar and his three wonderfully loving fur-babies (Lu-C, Taylor and Riley).

He is survived by his loving and devoted wife of 48 years, Rose Marie; his children. Jacob Vrtar (Orlando, FL) and Maria Higgins (Fairless Hills, PA); four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren; his sister Rose Marie Pearson, (Sartell, MN); and many nieces and nephews.

Jack was born in Cleveland, Ohio on January 21, 1938, the youngest of six children. His father passed away when he was three years old; his mother and siblings then moved to Sartell, Minnesota when he was seven years old.  His mother and he moved to Los Angeles, CA when he was ten.

Jack attended Woodrow Wilson High School where one of his closest and best friends was Ben Davidson, former member of the Oakland Raiders Football Team.  He graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in January 1954 after which he joined the US Navy following in the footsteps of his older brother, Marco.  He completed his basic training at the US Naval Training Center in San Diego, California. After completing basic training, he was stationed in Oklahoma City, OK; Pensacola, FL; and McGuire Air Force Base, NJ. While in the Navy as an Airman, he made numerous trips throughout Europe and Greenland.

Jack and Rose Marie met in April 1968 while he was a manager of a McDonald’s Restaurant in Trenton, NJ and she was in her junior year of college.  After marrying in April 1972, they moved to West Palm Beach, Florida. Subsequently in 1976 they relocated to San Gabriel, California. During his time in San Gabriel, Jack was an avid gardener entering many of his prize roses into competitions with the local and state Rose Societies.  He also became a member of the San Gabriel Police Department’s Volunteer Program and was recognized as Senior Citizen of the Year in 2002.

They purchased their first home in North Las Vegas in 2003 and moved permanently there in April 2016 after Rose Marie’s retirement.  Jack was truly devoted to his Roman Catholic Faith and volunteered as a Eucharistic Minister at Guardian Angel Cathedral where you could see him every Sunday after Mass talking with visitors about the Cathedral and pointing out to them the Chapels for picture taking. While in California, Jack became a member of the Knights of Columbus, achieved his fourth degree; after moving to Las Vegas, he became a member of the Guardian Angel Council.

Jack also became a member of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s Volunteer Program where he was one of the many Strip Walkers on Thursday mornings acting as an ambassador helping tourists. Wherever he was needed, Jack would volunteer to help including helping to deliver food and water to the hospitals after the One October incident.

Jack was always a very hard worker having many professions during his lifetime. He was a manager at several fast-food restaurants, a carpenter, an oil tank truck driver, a member of the operating engineers, a freight truck driver.  As an entrepreneur he started his own landscaping company that for several years maintained the Disneyland Hotel Property in Anaheim, CA. In the early 1990’s, he became owner of Custom Glass Etching producing glass etched awards for many top 500 companies and worked in this capacity until his passing.

Visitation will be at Guardian Angel Cathedral on Tuesday, January 12, 2021 from 10:00 am to 10:45 am; with funeral mass to follow at 11 am. He will be laid to rest at Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Boulder City, Nevada on Wednesday, January 27, 2021 at 12 noon. Family and friends can sign an online memorial guestbook at www.bouldercityfamilymortuary.com

In  lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Guardian Angel Cathedral, 302 Cathedral Way, Las Vegas, NV 89109 or  donations can also be made to the Las Vegas Metro Police Department Foundation earmarking the funds for K9 Division at:  lvmpdfoundation.org and ear mark the funds for K9