Edward Mack

MACK, EDWARD J. who was born and raised in the Pennsylvania coal mining region and went on to found a successful RI manufacturing company, died Tuesday at his home in Bristol, after a brief illness. He was 84. Husband of the late June (Higgins) Mack (deceased in 1987), married in 1957 in Bloomfield County, NJ. He was the son of James and Mary (Palko) Mack. He is survived by his eight children: William J. Mack (Susan Welin (d 2002)), Edward J. Mack II (Sandra), Mary Popham (Jeffrey), June Bjerregaard (Chris), John Mack, James Mack (Susan), Carol Scanlon (Andrew), and Thomas Mack. He is survived by seventeen grandchildren; Austin Mack, Anna Mack, John Mack, Joseph Mack, William Mack, Jay Popham, Michael Popham, Grace Popham, Sarah Popham, Kate Bjerregaard, Edward (Ted) Bjerregaard, Shelby Mack, Phoebe Mack, Darby Mack, James Scanlon, Hannah Scanlon, and Aidan Scanlon. He is also survived by his sisters Mary Jean McCarthy (Robert) and Elizabeth Mack. He was predeceased by his brothers James and Joseph (Elizabeth). Mr. Mack ran his company the way he lived his life, with humility, loyalty and a respect for family that governed the way he treated employees and customers. He worked his way through college at Seton Hall University in New Jersey, where he studied chemistry, graduating in 1952, then did graduate work in chemical engineering at Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute. He began his career working for chemical companies in New Jersey and New York, and then came to Rhode Island in 1965 to become director of research for Dixon Co. In 1974, he and his wife, the late June Higgins Mack, also a chemist, founded their own company, Mack Plastics, now Tri-Mack. An innovator, Mr. Mack held several U.S. patents in the area of polymer chemistry, a field he had a passion for. He was active in his company until days before his death. His work ethic personified the American Dream. He was devoted to his family and the family atmosphere he built at Tri-Mack. He weathered changes in the economy and business with his employees, mindful of each as an individual. He knew his employees personally and was deeply appreciated for his understated humility and boundless generosity. Mack was known for his love of family, church, politics, football and charitable endeavors. He possessed both a sharp intellect and a dry wit. He reveled in his roles as a husband, father, and grandfather. He loved nothing more than surrounding himself with his family on their annual Christmas vacations, and family celebrations. He loved Bristol, where he lived on Hope Street, formerly on Union St, where he and his wife, June raised their eight children. He was on the Lincoln Park NJ planning board in the 1960's and the Bristol planning board in the early 1970's. He embraced Christian values and was a lifelong Roman Catholic and communicant of St. Mary's Church in Bristol. Funeral services from the Sansone Funeral Home, 192 Wood Street, Bristol, Monday, November 3, 2014 at 10:00 AM with a Mass of Christian Burial at 11:00 AM in St. Mary's Church, 330 Wood Street, Bristol. Burial will follow in St. Mary's Cemetery, Chestnut Street, Bristol. Visiting hours will be Sunday, November 2, 2014 from 2:00 to 5:00 PM. In lieu of flowers donations can be made to Star Kids, P.O. Box 6214, Middletown, RI 02842, the Tomorrow Fund, 593 Eddy Street, Providence, RI 02903, or the East Bay Food Pantry, 150 Franklin Street, Bristol, RI 02809. For online condolences, shared memories, information and directions go to www.sansonefuneralhome.com