Jack was born to Mae Stratford van Summern and John Eugene van Summern in New York City on June 12, 1922. His father was a restaurant and club manager and the family moved around a bit before they settled in Buffalo, N.Y., where Jack went to high school. He was very athletic and a champion quarter miler on the high school track team.
Upon graduation from high school, he entered the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where he played football. His education was interrupted by WWII and he enlisted in the Army and served as a captain in the Signal Corp in Europe.
In Buffalo, Jack found work as an aerospace engineer at Bell Aircraft. Daughters, Diane and Michele, were born there. Another move brought them to Valley Forge, Pa., outside of Philadelphia where they lived for 54 years. Their third daughter, Suzanne, was born there.
Jack was initially employed at the General Electric Space Research Center and later had jobs with Gilbert Associates and United Engineers and Constructors. He ended his career back at General Electric. His family would often hear about his work on some of the early rockets when they viewed the TV launches. He also enjoyed pointing out the satellites in evening sky.
Jack greatly enjoyed his home and his life in the Valley Forge area. He golfed and played tennis into his later years. He was an avid gardener/ landscaper, growing roses, dahlias and tomatoes and remodeling the family home. His interest in boats led him to design and build his own catamaran and later purchase a Venture Cat.
Jack was a very generous and compassionate person and donated to many charities in addition to delivering Meals on Wheels. He also was very family oriented. Summer family vacations to the Jersey Shore were an important part of the family tradition. Jack and Til also enjoyed trips to Maine, Alaska, Washington, California, Hawaii, Europe, the Caribbean and annual winter trips to Florida.
When it was no longer possible to maintain and live in their own home, Jack and Til moved to Thornton Oaks, a Senior Living Community in Brunswick, Maine, to be close to their son, John, and his family and their daughter Mikki and her partner, Mark. In Maine, they enjoyed sightseeing, many restaurants, spending time with their children and grandchildren and visits from their West Coast children, Diane and Suzanne and their families.
Jack was a very creative man with boundless energy and drive and a great curiosity about many things including science, art, music and literature. He enjoyed good food, wine and a lively debate. He truly was a renaissance man and will be greatly missed.
In addition to his wife of 66 years, Til, Jack is survived by son, John, daughter in-law, Maggie, their children, Lucy and her fiancé, Matt Pelletier and Michael; daughter, Diane, son-in-law, Bruce, their children, Dan, and his wife, Danielle Noonan, and, Kathryn and her fiancé, Garrett Linrothe; daughter, Mikki, and partner, Mark; daughter, Suzanne and her daughter, Adrienne. Also by his brother Robert van Summern, his wife, Jane and their children, Mark, Kristen and Pamela.
A memorial service will be held at a later date. Donations in his memory can be made to Doctors Without Borders in his name or a charity of one’s choice.
Arrangements are under the care of Staples Funeral, 53 Brunswick Ave., Gardiner.
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