JACK WELCH

WELCH--Jack, died Sunday at home in New York, surrounded by his wife, Suzy, and step-children, Sophia, Eve, and Marcus, and Marcus's wife, Eva, and with his beloved dogs nearby. The cause of death was renal failure, after a long and tenacious battle. He was 84. Jack's stunning achievements as a business leader have been widely chronicled, but his family and legion of friends will mainly remember him as a life force made of love, who blazed into your life like a comet, with burning questions, hilarious and often shockingly astute commentary, and brilliant insights. More than anything, Jack cared. He loved people. Status was irrelevant to him. If you smiled back at him -- and he was always smiling -- you were part of his gang, and he was going to challenge you and cheer for you, not just in the moment, but forever. But Jack didn't just love people -- he loved life. He saw business as a fabulous, fun game that had the power to transform lives for the better. He would tell you he loved winning. But the truth is that he loved playing. (One of his favorite lines was always, "Let's go play!) He was also a political junkie, who managed to carry on his career and busy life while consuming TV news 24/7. He read three newspapers every morning, especially fixating on the editorial pages. Jack was often painted as a conservative, but his political views were more nuanced than one label. Sports also got the Jack treatment. He was thrilled beyond measure when after he retired, the owners of the Red Sox invited him to do on-air commentary as "the voice of the fan," a weekly assignment that he prepared for with fervor. The Patriots also held hallowed ground, which is to say, if you spoke during a game, you were exiled from the room, unless you were Sophia, Jack's step-daughter and partner in stan-dom. Jack often took his Patriots fervor directly to his friend Bill Belichick, probing him about trades in a way that would likely have terrified most people. But nothing terrified Jack. Later in life, Jack's world expanded to include a passion for modern art and animals. The latter of these was the most surprising, as he was practically famous for hating dogs, having been bitten as a child. But after his step- daughter Eve adopted a hound dog named Chrissy, Jack had a total change of heart. Soon a big, floppy Great Pyrenees rescue came into his life -- he named her "Happy" -- and in short order, he had taken the animal rescue cause as his own, donating generously and hosting fundraisers. Jack was larger than life in every way, and yet, the most intimate person you could ever know. His circle of friends was vast, and yet with bonds that were phoniness-free and entirely authentic, and he took untold pleasure in long lunches shooting the breeze (and solving all the world's problems) with Ken Langone, Jim Tullis, Larry Bossidy, David Zaslav, Andy Lack, Don Gogel, Paolo Fresco, Jacques Wullschleger, Mike Barnicle, and others. Jack also shared a vibrant friendship with his assistant of 32 years, Rosanne Badowski, and perhaps the most uttered word in his vocabulary was, "Ro!" The closest of his relationships, though, was with Suzy. Their life together started as an explosion, but their marriage was a love affair for the ages. They were the center of each other's lives in every way, traveling widely for book tours and fun, playing golf, seeing Broadway shows, and until he could no longer, taking walks with the dogs in Central Park. Jack was incredibly proud of the relationships he had with his step-children. He entered their lives when they were young, and endeavored to be the greatest step-father who ever lived. He succeeded. He also deeply valued his relationships with his adult children, Katherine, Anne, John III, and Mark, and nothing made him happier than when everyone was together in Nantucket. Indeed, one of the great "miracles" of Jack's life, in his opinion, was that in 2019, his step-son Marcus and his grandson Joe started a company together. Marcus and Joe often sought Jack's help with Quadio, which Jack freely dispensed, along with massive doses of encouragement, and his favorite sign off line, "Don't f*&* this up!" Jack hated wakes ("Too depressing") and wanted his life to be celebrated, not mourned. A funeral Mass will be conducted by Cardinal Timothy Dolan at St. Patrick's Cathedral at 9am on Thursday. As Jack would have it, all are welcome.