Depending on what life he is on, that cat could very well still be alive today!

It's an acquired skill, picking out a ginger cat in a monochrome environment. Notice the low contrast of the stripe pattern. Ginger cats are like that. I could be wrong, but I have a reason for my high degree of confidence.

This cat looks just like my Jethro. I sometimes call him my Plywood Cat, since he is perfectly camouflaged against some grades of plywood. But the more urgent skill is knowing not to step on him when I go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. His orange hue stands out against the concrete floor, if the lights are on, but in gray scale, he's invisible.

Therefore, I imagine Jethro as a reincarnation of this lady's cat. They do look very much alike.

was on the cover of LOOK Magazine – March 12, 1940.

I thought all strike anywhere matches were white tipped so a Google image search yielded Ohio Blue tip strike anywhere matches. Dark blue head with light blue tip. Can’t tell the actual color or brand of course but they certainly do not have a white tip.