John W. "Jack" Creighton Jr.

John "Jack" W. Creighton, Jr. Prominent civic and business leader John "Jack" Creighton, Jr., passed away on Wednesday, January 29, 2020 surrounded by family at his home in Bellevue, Washington. He was 87 years old. Jack Creighton worked for Weyerhaeuser Company for 27 years, serving as the first non-family CEO from 1991-1997. In 1998, he joined the board of UAL Corporation, parent company of United Airlines, and became interim Chairman and CEO of UAL for the year immediately following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Jack always exhibited a deep sense of responsibility to the communities in which his employers operated. When asked why he would come out of retirement to take the top job at United Airlines under such adverse conditions, he said that he had to because "80,000 employees' ability to put food on their families' tables was at stake." He was also Vice-Chairman and Director of Unocal Corporation, a Strategic Director of Madrona Venture Group, Chairman of Intrepid Learning Solutions, a Director of Saltchuk Resources, Inc., and a Director of Puget Sound Bank (later KeyBank). Jack served many nonprofits and government agencies as well. He was a Trustee of Overlake Medical Center in Bellevue, Chairman of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle, Chairman of the American Forest and Paper Association, Founding Co-Chair of the World Trade Center of Seattle, a Trustee of William D. Ruckelshaus Center, and a Director of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland. His father had to drop out of high school to support the family after his own father died in a coal mining accident. As a result, Jack was the first in his family to attend college and felt deeply about the power of education to change lives. He was an enthusiastic benefactor of Zion Preparatory Academy in Seattle, which provided faith-based education to children in need, and served as President of the Washington State University Foundation, a Trustee of the University of Puget Sound, and a Director of The Ohio State University Foundation Board, the University of Washington Press, and the Washington Education Foundation. When he was a teenager, Jack earned the rank of Eagle Scout and his passion for Scouting stayed with him through his entire life. He was scoutmaster of his son's Troop 726 in Bellevue and served on the Chief Seattle Council Board of Directors, where he was Council President from 19851987. Jack went on to serve as National President of the Boy Scouts of America from 19961998. His devotion to Scouting was recognized with the Silver Beaver, the Silver Antelope, and the Silver Buffalo awards. He was also awarded the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award in 1991. Jack was the recipient of numerous lifetime achievement awards including the Prime Minister of Japan's Letter of Commendation for International Trade, the Junior Achievement-Puget Sound Business Journal Hall of Fame Laureate Award, the Alumni Medalist Award for national and international career achievement from Ohio State University Alumni Association, and the Distinguished Volunteer Service Award from Washington State University Foundation. From 19561957, Jack served as a Sergeant in the US Army's Fourth Infantry Division in Germany. Later in life, he served as Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army for the State of Washington. Jack was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and graduated from Wilkinsburg High School in 1950. He received his undergraduate and law degrees from The Ohio State University and his MBA from the University of Miami (Florida). During his time at Ohio State, he was a member of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. As successful as Jack Creighton was in his business career, his priority was always his family. He was a devoted husband and father. He met his wife Janet M. Creighton on a blind date in Columbus, Ohio. They later reconnected in South Florida, where he worked in real estate development and she worked for Eastern Airlines. They were married in 1960 and lived in Coral Gables, Florida until 1970 when they moved their young family to Bellevue, Washington. Jack is survived by his wife Janet, daughters Julia Creighton (John Bronson) and Jennifer Creighton, son John Creighton III, and granddaughters Emma and Stella Bronson. The family plans to hold a Celebration of Life at the Waterlink Atrium at Seattle's Bell Harbor International Conference Center, 2211 Alaskan Way, Pier 66, on the Seattle Central Waterfront on Wednesday, April 29th at 2:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in his honor to The Jack Creighton Endowed Scholarship in Real Estate administered by the College of Built Environments at the University of Washington.