Brown Hockey Community,
I am writing with great sadness about the recent loss on July 29th of John (“Jake”) Jacks Jr. ’87. John wore the Brown Hockey sweater proudly during his tenure and was a great teammate and fraternity brother. More importantly, he was a genuine person, caring classmate and friend to so many at Brown and beyond.
John Jr. was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, on November 15, 1964 to John William Jacks, Sr. and Nancy (Hurley) Jacks. He was a 1983 Graduate of Highland Park High School in St. Paul and played high school hockey in the ultra-competitive Minnesota high school leagues. John married Kimberley (Maliskey) Jacks in 1990 and had three children—Courtney Gayle and two sons, John William III "Jakey" and Nicholas Charles "Nick". John is also survived by his mother and father, brother Kelly Jacks, sisters Colleen Jacks, Susan Sander, and Sharon Jacks-McDonald, and mother-in-law, Gayle Maliskey. After graduating from Brown in 1987, John managed several electronics businesses in Tennessee and Alabama until his courageous battle with colon cancer became consuming over a year ago.
Jake had a funny, witty sense of humor and will be remembered on many fronts. One of the classic all-time Jake moments (though perhaps not the grandest in the grand scheme) was when he earned a spot on the Wheel of Fortune his sophomore year and managed to take home the hardware with the country and Brown community watching on TV! He was also known as a laid-back guy who loved the outdoors and particularly enjoyed visiting his parents’ cabin in Minnesota. In his last month, he tried to make a final MN visit but sadly had to forego the trip and send only half of his family due to the stress and pain he was enduring. However, in June a group of loyal Brown classmates and teammates (including Dave Andreychuk, James (Jens) Gjerset, Dave (Red) Cary, Greg Diffley and Eddie Goddard) were able to enjoy a particularly special weekend of reminiscing and laughter with Jake and his family at their home in Alabaster, Alabama. These friends and others have since established a Jacks Family Memorial Trust to help address medical, education and special needs expenses that have mounted (son Nick is autistic) and have arranged for matching donations as well. If you are interested in learning more and assisting on this front, please call Dave Andreychuk ’87 at (646) 225-4552 or he can be reached at
david.andreychuk@microsoft.com. If you would like to just post a personal note or condolence, you should also feel free to visit the John Jacks CaringBridge website, which John’s wife Kimberley has so inspirationally maintained, at
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/johnjacks.
To all of the Jacks family, the Brown Hockey community and the BHA extends our heartfelt sympathy and prayers to you and we are thankful that John is no longer suffering.
Jake, you were a great friend, teammate and colleague. You gave us many classic moments, and you were “ever true” to your friends, family and the Brown community. We will miss you.
Mark Rechan ‘87
President, Brown Hockey Association
