Cunneen, John “Jack” Age 86, of Southborough, MA, and more recently Sarasota, FL, passed away quietly on Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2019. He was at home with his family by his side.
Born November 26, 1932 to Patrick and Kathleen Cunneen of Arlington, MA. Jack was an entrepreneur with a keen intellect, a craftsman and master of all trades. After serving in the army, he used the GI bill to complete a degree in mechanical engineering at Northeastern University.
In 1978, Jack bought a small hydraulic firm called Fluid Power Products. The company and its employees were Jack’s life, working every day until just recently.
Jack was preceded in death by his parents, his first wife of 24 years Marion Cobb Cunneen, his sister Mildred O’Connell and his brother Kevin Cunneen. Jack is survived by his second wife of 27 years Mary Jayne Roy-Cunneen, his sisters Pat Wright and Mary Chase and his adult children Michele and Bruce.
His favorite place was the family camp in Maine where he would use a lifetime of accumulated skills to repair all manner of things a 90 year old camp would require. In accordance with Jacks wishes, there will be no service. A private celebration of life will be held at the family camp in Maine.
Donations in Jack’s honor can be made to: Travis Mills Foundation www.Travismillsfoundation.org They provide free of charge family camp vacations for veterans. Their facilities are close to the family camp in Maine. Mote Marine Labs www.mote.org They provide services to marine mammals. Jack enjoyed snorkeling with the manatees and all things cruising in boats.
Arrangements by All Veterans-All Families Funerals & Cremations (941) 377-1060.
(Obituary via Legacy.com)
Jack was a great boss, a great person, and a really unique character. I feel lucky that I got to know him and that he was a large part of my life for years. The world got less interesting with his passing.
There are many but here is a Jack true story: I once got a call from a customer who was having difficulty figuring out why they could not control a hydraulic crane cylinder on a machine they were servicing. I mentioned it to Jack and he said “let’s go have a look”. Roger Coffey joined us, so off I went driving about 70 or 80 years of engineering expertise to the customer location. We arrived at the facility and Jack proceeded to introduce himself to everyone in sight. From the Receptionist Lady to Production Workers to Maintenance guys to Accountants in suits, everyone got a handshake. We eventually wound up in a conference room with about 10 Engineers and technicians who had all been trying to solve the cylinder problem for about a week. Jack asked questions, pondered (and instantly digested) the hydraulic schematic, then cited a few hydraulic and physics formulas and did some unbelievable calculations in his head. Jack came up with a theory that no one had thought of: The cylinder rod had somehow disengaged from the piston. The theory surprised everyone in the room and they expressed their doubts. We politely said “good luck”, the customer said thanks, and we went on our way. A week or so later I received a call from the customer and they had disassembled the cylinder to discover that: The cylinder rod had somehow disengaged from the piston!
But the funny part of the story is this: I continued to visit this customer on a regular basis for about another 5 years and just about every time I went there someone would always approach me and ask: “How is that guy Jack doing?”
He had only been there for about an hour but it seemed that everyone he had met remembered him.