It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of our Co-Founder and Chairman, Jack Connors, Jr., who died this morning from pancreatic cancer. Giving proof to his claim that he would never stop working for the causes that meant so much to him, it was only on June 8th at the Camp Harbor View Beach Ball that he announced a record-breaking fundraising total of $13.4M, most of which was Jack’s own handiwork. He turned 82 the following day.

When then-Boston Mayor Tom Menino asked Jack in 2006 for help with keeping middle school kids safe and happy in the summer, Jack tapped into his creativity and resourcefulness to imagine a beautiful summer day camp on an island in Boston Harbor, and Camp Harbor View was born.

Jack envisioned a pristine campus where kids could swim, sail, play sports, make new friends, and see a future filled with possibilities. As you know, that vision is now a reality.

Every day since the camp opened in July of 2007, Jack has challenged all of us to be imaginative, and to work hard to partner with kids and families in the Camp Harbor View community. He has been relentless in his drive to provide us with all the resources necessary to do our work, and as a result, Camp Harbor View has become much more than a summer camp.

It’s hard to imagine Camp Harbor View (or in fact, Boston) without Jack, but our promise to him and to you is that we will endure, we will thrive, and we will maintain Jack’s standards of excellence in everything we do. He would expect nothing less of us and we will never let him down.

So many Bostonians have wonderful memories of interactions with Jack and inspirations from his lifetime of service and generosity. We invite you to join us in sharing a message or memory here:

Jack’s full obituary can be found here: Jack Connors, advertising titan and legendary philanthropist-power broker, dies at 82.