Jack Lee Wyant was born at home in Lincoln, Nebraska to Edith (McGoldrick) and Millard E. (Elmer) Wyant on August 12, 1944.  He was to be named Millard Patrick, the first name for his dad and middle name for his maternal grandfather.  Big sister, Karen, insisted that he be named Jack; and she got her way.

He liked to say he was born at the State Hospital for the Insane in Lincoln, grew up at the Lincoln Reformatory and graduated from the Beatrice State Home.  Actually, his dad was an administrator at those facilities and housing accommodations were part of the perks.

He started school at Blessed Sacrament School in Lincoln and attended and graduated from St. Joseph’s High School in Beatrice where he was active in sports.  During the summers, while in high school, he was a lifeguard at the municipal pool where he saved the life of a young girl who had drowned but was revived with the old-fashioned mouth-to-mouth techniques.

Jack joined the Navy in 1963.  Upon graduation from basic training in San Diego, he was sent to the USS Haven to await training as a sonar technician where he was injured and received a medical discharge. 

After returning to Beatrice, Jack worked as a radiology technician in Beatrice at St. Joseph’s Hospital.

At the urging of a deputy from the Gage County Sheriff’s Office, he applied to, and was accepted by, the Nebraska State Patrol (then the Nebraska Safety Patrol).  His first assignment was to the Fremont area where he worked in the traffic division.  He later moved to Broken Bow as a Drug Investigator.  His final move was to Lincoln as a Criminal Investigator where he finished his 28 ½ years with the agency.  He investigated many crimes, including several high-profile murder investigations.  The “Little Boy Blue” case from Christmas Eve took over two years and 3 states to solve.  It also got him mentioned in Gregg Olsen’s book Abandoned Prayers about the case. During his career, he posed as a hitman, various nefarious characters and a pawn shop operator willing to accept stolen goods and other illegal substances. 

He retired from the State Patrol at the end of 1994, but his “retirement” was delayed a bit as he started Wyant Investigations and worked as a licensed private investigator for several years and later was employed as the investigator for the Nebraska State Racing Commission.

When he finally retired, he still spent his time investigating.  This time it was genealogy and coins.  He traced parts of his family back to the 1500s but never found any really valuable coins.

Throughout his life, Jack enjoyed traveling, camping, scuba diving and motorcycles, especially with his brother-in-law, Ron Osborne (his NSP partner and later his Sgt.)  There are many stories of their times together including getting RCMPs riled (3x) in Saskatchewan and Ontario when they were mistaken as stragglers to a notorious biker gang that had caused problems the week before.  They had been working undercover so they looked the part!  By the end of those encounters, they were able to make new friends with those officers.

Jack took great pride in his family.  With Rosemary Best Wyant, he had daughters Michelle and Nicole.  Years later he met his future wife, Lora Yardley, whose office at the Department of Roads was upstairs from his office.  They were married in 1983 and his third daughter, Kathleen, arrived in 1992.  In addition, there are 8 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents, sister Karen Hartley Foster, brothers-in-law, Larry Hartley, John Foster, Ron Osborne and niece Elizabeth Yardley.

Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 1:00 P.M. on Monday, February 17, 2025, at St. Joseph Catholic Church of Beatrice with Father Joseph Faulkner as Celebrant. Burial will be in the St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery of Beatrice with military rites by the United States Naval Honor Guard and Bitting-Norman Post #27 of the American Legion of Beatrice. Cremation has taken place and there will be no viewing. The family will greet relatives and friends one hour prior to the service at the church on Monday. In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to the family for future designation. www.foxfuneralhome.net  Arrangements entrusted to Fox Funeral Home & Cremation Services of Beatrice.