Worcester - John Jeppson II, 96, described by some as "one of Worcester's civic leaders and a true gentleman" and by others as "a colorful old troll who wore many hats," died peacefully on February 10, 2013.
John was born in Worcester on December 10, 1916, a second generation Swedish-American. His grandfather John Jeppson I was one of the founders of Norton Company, later to become a worldwide abrasives manufacturing concern. Following in the footsteps of his father George N. Jeppson as president and CEO, John led the company through years of expansion until his retirement in 1985 when he became honorary chairman of the board and director. John joined Norton Company as an industrial engineer and worked his way up through the ranks of employees. He always felt that this gave him a practical knowledge of the company and its people seldom shared by today's corporate executives. During his tenure as CEO, the company's continued growth sustained its nearly century long position as a cornerstone in the manufacturing profile of the city of Worcester. In addition to Norton Company, John was for many years the chairman of the Guaranty Bank, founded by his father initially to serve the Worcester Swedish community, and later the area as a whole.
John attended Bancroft School, graduated from Deerfield Academy in 1934 and went on to Amherst College and Harvard Business School from which he graduated in 1940. He married Julie Armstrong, began his family with his two eldest children, and later divorced. Complementing his distinguished academic career, John ran track at Amherst and excelled in the high hurdles. He competed in the Millrose Games at Madison Square Garden and was a contender for the next Olympic games canceled with the outbreak of World War II. After retiring from the Navy as a Lieutenant Commander in 1945, he settled back in Worcester and resumed his employ at Norton Company as a foreman in the Abrasives Division. In 1947 he married Marianne Jenner Shellabarger and continued to expand his family with two more children.
John's great love for the city of Worcester was manifest in the many civic organizations that he both supported and in which he was actively engaged. He was a trustee and board chair of Clark University, president of the American Antiquarian Society, president of the Worcester County Music Association, trustee of the Worcester Art Museum, member of the board of the American Red Cross, member of the board of United Way of Worcester, founding incorporator of the Worcester Community Foundation, vice president and trustee of the Worcester County Horticultural Society, and member of the Trinity Lutheran Church Council-among many others. He took these roles seriously and worked tirelessly for the organizations that he felt made Worcester a vibrant cultural, educational, and spiritual community. He received two honorary degrees-from Amherst College and Clark University-and was awarded the Isaiah Thomas Award for "distinguished community service to the city of Worcester." In 2012, John and Marianne were joint recipients of the Salisbury Award from the Worcester Art Museum. As family friend Warner Fletcher noted in an address to the Worcester Fire Society: "In my mind he personifies the enlightened citizen industrialist which every community needs more of! He had the opportunity, which he seized, as well as the enlightened will, which he exercised, to use the opportunities and blessings he had been so lucky to receive to multiply these many times over for Worcester's benefit through his vocational and avocational pursuits aplenty."
For the decades that John ran Norton and participated in the culture of the city, he also maintained a country home, Oakholm Farm, inherited from his mother and father. The acres of woodland and farmland were his playground as a child and later his second calling. He embraced the working life of a farm-first establishing a dairy herd, then raising Belgian workhorses, and later, Christmas trees, blueberries, beef cattle and turkeys. His love of horticulture was evident in the beautiful gardens surrounding the house and the rows of daylilies lining the great lawn looking out over Lake Quaboag. In 1990 he took the classes necessary to become a Master Gardener and, of course, graduated the program top of his class. The gentle trials and tribulations, but mostly joys, of operating a small farm are recounted in his memoir "Making Hay", published in 2008 when John was 90 years old.
Jock Herron, his editor at TidePool Press, recalls, "Working with John on 'Making Hay' was utterly delightful. We began with a slew of wonderfully written vignettes and ended up with a fully crafted love story centered on Marianne, but including the farm, the family and the community. John's playfulness, his focus, his complete lack of self-centeredness and the deep affection he had for people and place made for wonderful editorial meetings. And his gentle executive prodding and the sparkle in his eyes helped make sure we all did the best job we possibly could." He loved telling stories and was hard at work on a second book with the slightly less specific working title of "This and That." Stay tuned.
Located in Brookfield, Oakholm Farm became the gathering place for John's ever burgeoning family-now totaling four children, nine grandchildren, six great grandchildren and equally cherished in-laws and "out-laws." On July 4th, family and friends gather to celebrate both Swedish Midsummer and the birth of the United States illustrating John's connection to his heritage and his country. But most of all, the celebration has come to represent his pride in his family whom he loved so deeply. All this said, the great love of his life, superseding all others until the moment he passed away, was his wife of sixty-six years Marianne. The life they shared was magical. He will be missed by her, his sister Betty and her family, his three surviving children, John Jeppson III and his wife Wendy Benchley; Eric Jeppson and his wife Nancy; and Ingrid Mach and her husband Dany Pelletier. A daughter Muffy predeceased him and she welcomes him in spirit. "Helan Går!"
John's grandchildren include: Nathaniel, Bree and Jake Jeppson; Craig, Carder, Antonia and Julie Stout; and Sam and Pam Jeppson. His great-grandchildren are: Cassie, Cullen, Connor, Chloe, Lucas and Adelaide.
A private service has been held for the family. A celebration of John Jeppson II's life is planned at a later date in Worcester. Details to be announced.
In lieu of flowers the family requests that John Jeppson II's legacy be acknowledged through gifts to any of the above-mentioned non-profit organizations.
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