Christian Martin John Jauch entered the gates of Heaven on April 22, 2019. He was born on August 19, 1931 in Winsted, Connecticut to Christian and Christine Jauch. After graduation from Gilbert High School in 1949, he attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for one year before returning home to work at The Gilbert Clock Factory, where he met and fell in love with Jeannette Thibault, the prettiest girl on the assembly line and married her on February 9, 1952. He was drafted into The United States Army and proudly served his country for two years in Korea. In 1953, they welcomed a son, Christian Jr. (Chris) and in 1956, daughter Kathleen (Kathy).
His curiosity for how things were made, his love of learning and his natural knack for inventiveness served him well when he moved the family South in 1965 to work at the newly opened clock manufacturing company, Spartus Corporation, in Louisville, MS. He quickly went from Design Engineer to Chief Engineer until 1977 when he was transferred to Astron in Peru, Illinois. Two years later they were on the move again, this time to The Sunbeam Clock Company in Forest, MS. However, Sunbeam closed this location in 1983 and he was transferred to New Jersey where they lived before returning “home” to Louisville and Spartus in 1986. While with Spartus he obtained numerous patents. In 1989, as Manager of Product Engineering, he designed a quartz clock movement and helped set up an automated quartz movement assembly line capable of producing a finished clock movement every 2.5 seconds.
Life slowed down after retirement in 1996, but his insatiable appetite for inventing, creating and technology led him to a new venture – making vinyl signs for businesses and individuals in Louisville and surrounding areas…many of which are still in use today. However, no matter what new project came along, he never lost his love for clocks and took great pride in repairing and restoring a variety of clocks for people. He often referred to the clocks as his “patients” and while in for repair, they would line the walls and countertops of both the shop and their home until he was ready for them to be “discharged”.
He was stubborn to a fault, would give you the shirt off his back, could draw your portrait in charcoal or ink, could pick out a tune on the piano, could build an icy, snow-packed toboggan race track worthy of clocking an Olympic record, could fix or build absolutely anything, LOVED music and was eager to share that love with everyone, loved a good joke, loved to give folks nicknames, loved his country, loved his family and most of all, loved his beautiful wife of 65 years.
The clock of life is wound but once
And no man has the power
To tell just when the hands will stop
At late or early hour
Now is the only time you own
Live, love, toil with a will
Place no faith in tomorrow for
The clock may then be still.
Funeral services will be 11 a.m. Saturday, April 27, 2019, in the Nowell Massey Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Mike Childs officiating. Visitation will be the day of the service from 10 a.m. until service time at Nowell Massey Funeral Home in Louisville. Interment will follow in Memorial Park Cemetery.
Servings as pallbearers are Cornelius Harris, Drew Hayslett, Erich Jauch, Josh Smith, Mike Towne and Larry Veazey.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to Wounded Warrior Project https://support.woundedwarriorproject.org, Alzheimer’s Association, or a charity of your choice.
Services are under the direction of Nowell-Massey Funeral Home, 724 North Columbus Avenue, Louisville, MS. Memories and condolences may be shared with the family by signing the guest register at www.nowellmasseyfuneralhome.com.