John A. "Jack" Dawson

I'm reading a novel, "Walk the Wire" by David Baldacci, and the character's last name is, "Dawson", and immediately my mind went back almost 45 years to when I began working at IBM Poughkeepsie's Education Center (1974) and would meet Jack. To this "kid", Jack was the epitome of larger than life IBM'er. I loved his stories and envied his life, yet, little did I know of his life before IBM. I remembered him needing a ride back to his apartment, which happened to be the best Poughkeepsie had...

As a new instructor at IBM teaching senior execs about information technology, Jack took me under his wing. He was always reading different books to supplement the material we taught. He encouraged me to do so too. During the bleak winter months, we moved our IBM classes from Poughkeepsie, NY to Boca Raton, Florida. Jack referred to it as "Operation Sunshine" and always looked forward to the annual trip to Florida for a month or so. I recall how Jack as a senior instructor, who was close to...

Jack was a friend and a mentor to me at IBM. We worked together as instructors in IBM's Customer Executive program. Jack was a great leader and one of the best instructors we have ever had. It was a privilege to work with him and I send his family my sincerest sympathies during this difficult time.

May Mr. Dawson rest in peace. My thoughts are prayers are with him and his family, especially Mrs. Wutt Dawson.