John "Jack" F McMahon Jr's Obituary
Jack was born and raised in Norwalk, Connecticut. He attended Fairfield Prep and graduated from Providence College. He served in the US Army during the Korean War. After serving his country, he went to work for R.T.Vanderbilt in Norwalk CT.
Mary & Jack met in 1954. Mary ‘knew’ her deceased grandfather had ‘found her Irishman’ for her! Mary & Jack were married in 1956. They lived a few years in Norwalk & shortly after their marriage Jack left RT Vanderbilt & went to work for American Mineral Spirits Company as a salesman in the Bronx & New York City. He proved to be a great salesman & his territory was expanded to cover the entire Northeast. Jack & Mary’s son, Jack was born while they lived in Norwalk, but with the promotion, the new family relocated to Agawam, Massachusetts from where Jack covered his expanded territory from Connecticut to Canada. After a short 18 mo’s Jack was again promoted to District Manager and the family of 3 moved to Baltimore, MD. While Jack was running the Curtis Bay Plant in Baltimore, a daughter, Elizabeth was born.
In 1966, Jack received an offer to start a chemical company in Florida. Jack selected Tampa as the site for the new company – which he named Eastern Seaboard Petroleum Co. Mary and Jack decided Clearwater was family friendly and relocated their home to the City from which Jack commuted to Tampa.
In 1973, Eastern Seaboard was sold to a large conglomerate who asked Jack to relocate his wife & now teenage children to Ohio. After thoughtful consideration, Jack turned down the offer & founded his own chemical distribution firm, Majemac Enterprises Inc. Jack grew the company & developed an undisputed reputation for high ethics and success by doing the right thing. When son Jack graduated from college, he joined Majemac where he apprenticed under his dad until Jack decided to hand over leadership of the company to Jack.
Aside from family and work, Jack loved his golf and earned 2 holes in one during his golf adventures. He loved the water & mastered the art of sailing monohulls. He took up running at the urging of daughter Elizabeth and still has every T-shirt the Times Turkey trot ever issued!
Friends and customers alike said the same thing about Jack….In all my travels and encounters, I never heard anyone whisper an unkind word about Jack!
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