John Edward Jack Roorbach

John Edward "Jack" Roorbach, known to his 10 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren as Poppy, died July 3, 2017, after a long and blessed life

John Edward "Jack" Roorbach

Born September 24, 1926, he was the son of Olivia Miller and Edward Henry Roorbach, of Kansas City, Mo He was an only child In 1933 the family moved to Liberty, Mo (now subsumed by Kansas City), where Jackie met Reba Burkhardt, whose father was a pastor in that town They began dating in early high school years, and married on Nov  4, 1945

Mr Roorbach was at the younger end of the Greatest Generation, and joined the Navy not long before VE day VJ day came before he was deployed He returned home to join his new bride in married housing at William Jewell College in Liberty After they were graduated, the couple moved to Chicago, Ill, where Jack took business classes at Northwestern University But before he could complete his master's degree, he was recruited and hired by Socony Mobil, later to be known as Mobil Oil, still later as simply Mobil

In 1949, Reba gave birth to a son, John Randall (NCHS 1967) In 1953, William Forsyth arrived (NCHS 1971)

Jack rose quickly in the Chicago office of Mobil, and in 1954 was transferred to the Boston office The family moved to Needham, Mass There, Poppy joined a local chapter of the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America and began to sing with a barbershop chorus and in the car

In 1955, Reba gave birth to a girl, Carol Kristen (NCHS 1973) In 1959, Douglas Miller was born (NCHS 1977) Jack was transferred at the same time to the New York office of Mobil, which was then headquarters, the pinnacle of the corporate structure

The family duly moved to New Canaan Jack rose to become manager of employee relations and manpower planning for Mobil International He travelled a great deal and saw most of the countries of the world In the United States, he played an ongoing game of cribbage during the daily commute for nearly 40 years

In 1963, a fifth child was born, Janet Robert (NCHS 1981) New Canaan quickly became the hometown of all five children Jack was very proud when they all not only completed college but graduate school in their respective fields

But before that, Jack took leadership and support roles in Boy Scout troops, Little League Baseball teams, Indian Guide tribes, and endless activities at the Congregational Church of New Canaan, where he was a deacon

He also led boisterous singalongs in the station wagon on the way to such summer favorite as Jones Beach on Long Island and Roxbury Falls in Connecticut Later, he and Reba invested in a pretty cottage on Mascoma Lake in New Hampshire, where Jack could be seen very nearly waterskiing, driving himself to the hospital for stitches in the aftermath ("I'm fine!), and making valiant trips to the grocery store for potato salad ingredients as the brood of grandchildren grew

In 1979, Jack retired from Mobil and began a life of volunteering with his friend Ray Wheeler, who called themselves Click and Clack They built and repaired their way through the churches and nature centers of southwestern Connecticut, making friends wherever they went With the commute behind him, poppy moved his cribbage empire to the diners of America, making friends and winning matches while visiting his children and their families across America, also building and repairing their homes He volunteered at the New Canaan Historical Society, where among other roles he was Quizmaster Supreme

Reba left this life in the New Canaan house in 2006 Shortly thereafter, Jack moved to Atlanta, Ga, to join the household of number-three son, Douglas, where he very much enjoyed taking part in family life, and being near number-two daughter and family, who also live in the Atlanta area

He continued to travel to New Hampshire each summer to be with all of his grandchildren, usually in shifts, ever-larger vats of potato salad Jack joined Central Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, where he was part of the bell choir

More recently, he moved to his own sunny apartment in Montclair at Clairmont Place There, he enjoyed peaceful walks around the lake and lively meals with new friends He left this mortal coil in the fullness of a truly long and great and generous life in the company of his daughters, lucid to the very last, enjoying phone calls from his other children, grandchildren, and friends

Jack is survived by his children, their spouses, Juliet, Malcolm, Jennifer, and Brenda, and their children, his grandchildren: Kristen Roorbach Jamison (NCHS 1997), Beth Roorbach Rapp (NCHS 1999), Rosie Roorbach Bates, Madeline Roorbach, Isabella Bates, Olivia Roorbach, Florin Roorbach, Allen Hewlett, John Roorbach, and Elysia Roorbach He is also survived by four great-grandchildren

In lieu of flowers, please send donations in Jack's name to the New Canaan Nature Center Endowment Fund

– The Family