Col. A. C. Pack, Former Postmaster, And Washtenaw Sheriff, Dies At 86

Col. Ambrose C. Pack, a former Ann Arbor postmaster, Washtenaw county sheriff and one-time commander of the 125th Infantry regiment, died of a cerebral hemorrhage yesterday afternoon at his home at 1306 Granger Ave. He was 86.

Col. Pack served in the Michigan National Guard and Army for 29 years, rising through the ranks from private.

He trained and commanded the 31st Michigan Infantry prior to and after its induction into federal service during World War I, when the Ann Arbor National Guard outfit was renamed the 125th Infantry.

Col. Pack served under Gen. Pershing in 1916 on the U. S. - Mexican border, when Army troops were deployed there to rout the Mexican revolutionist, Pancho Villa.

Saw Active Duty

Col. Pack saw action as an infantry captain during the Spanish-American War.

He was sheriff of Washtenaw county between 1919 and 1923. From this latter date until 1935, when he retired at age 60, he was a Republican-appointed postmaster of Ann Arbor.

As postmaster for 12 years, he led an unsuccessful fight to get the City Council to rename S. Fourth and S. Fifth Aves., calling them Allen and Beal Sts. to avoid "confusion" on the streets' locations.

Col. Pack came out of retirement in 1940 to serve as chairman of Michigan Selective Service Board No. 85 here for five years.

The retired Army officer was honored in 1951 by the Erwin Prieskorn Post of the American Legion and awarded the Legion's citation for meritorious service to the community. He was a Legion member.

Memberships Told

He was also an early member of the Ann Arbor Rotary Club, a life member of Golden Rule Lodge, F&AM; a member of the Scottish Rite Masons, rising to a 32nd degree Mason; and a lifelong member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Col. Pack attended Ann Arbor public schools, graduating from Ann Arbor High School.

He was a professional photographer for 25 years prior to 1917, helping to operate Randall & Pack, a local studio.

Col. Pack was born Dec. 14, 1870, in Ann Arbor, a son of Theodore and Helen Marr Pack, and married to Roba A. Pulcipher on May 9, 1894, at Ann Arbor. She died Dec. 28, 1951.

Survivors are two sons, Brig. Gen. Philip C. Pack, retired, of Beaverton, Mich., and Prof. Roger A. Pack of Ann Arbor; a daughter, Mrs. Richard C. Scott of Detroit; six grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. A sister, Mrs. Ruby Olsaver, also of Ann Arbor, also survives.

Funeral services will be at 1 p.m. Monday at the Muehlig Chapel, with the Rev. Erland J. Wangdahl officiating. Burial will be in Forest Hill Cemetery, where graveside services will be conducted by the Golden Rule Masonic Lodge. Friends may call at the chapel starting Sunday.