John "Jack" Dern

John (Jack) Dern, Jr. died April 7 at his home in Nordland, Wash. after a long illness. He was 81 years old. Jack was born in Chicago, the first child of John Dern and Jean MacLeish Dern. A proud graduate of New Trier High School, Jack grew up in Glencoe and went on to the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned degrees from the Wharton School. He served in the U.S. Navy and returned to Chicago as an executive at Carson, Pirie, Scott & Co. Jack left Chicago in the late 1970s, moving to Billings, Mont. and, later, Washington state. He launched a music and film production company and developed a cattle business. He was a past president of the Marrowstone Island Community Assn. Jack was a sailor, competing several times in the Chicago Yacht Club's Race to Mackinac, and a lover of classical music, opera, and art of Mexico and the western U.S. He is survived by his wife, Sarah (Sally) Villaume Dern of Nordland, Wash.; brother Bruce of Pasadena, Calif.; sister Jean Segil of Scottsdale, Ariz.; son John of Naperville; former wife Mary K White of Big Timber, Mont.; step-daugthers Sarah Baxter-Cronauer, Port Angeles, Wash. and Betsy Baxter, Big Timber, Mont.; and four grandchildren, Jeremy, Graham and Annalie Dern, and John Baxter. A remembrance is scheduled for April 27 at the Nordland Garden Club, Nordland, Wash. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Nordland Garden Club Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 131, Nordland, WA 98358