2019/08/obit-JackMadore-obitpicture-186x300.jpgJack R. Madore passed away July 16 with his devoted wife, Mary, youngest daughter, Pier, and best friend Mike James by his side.
Jack was born in 1939 in Flint, Mich., to the late Jack and Bernice Madore, and spent a decade as a young man as a tool and die maker at General Motors in Flint.
He then worked at IBM in Essex Junction, Vt., as a staff engineer for 18 years, during which time he won an Outstanding Contribution Award for his design work on a piece of equipment: “Mechanization of Monolithic Array Module Assembly.” His work at both companies prepared him for his next step, the acquisition and expansion of a small engineering firm, Crow Company, in Tucson, Ariz., which he purchased in the mid 1980s and transformed into one of the premier specialty piping distribution and manufacturing companies in the southwestern United States, with locations in Tucson, Phoenix, Denver and Albuquerque. Crow Company’s innovative work and great team caught the attention of a larger group that ultimately purchased the business.
Jack was passionate about engineering and design outside of business, too. He restored, modified and built classic vehicles, custom street bikes, drag cars and roadsters, which led to many adventures and friendships. He built several houses in the Pagosa Springs area of Colorado after moving to the state in the 1990s, developed Navajo Peak Ranch in Chromo, Colo., and was instrumental in the successful start-up of Pine Ridge Extended Care.
He was also an avid outdoorsman who loved to hunt and fish — in the U.S., Canada and Africa — and served on ski patrol at Sugarbush Resort in Warren, Vt., teaching many a novice how to navigate a slope.
Jack is best remembered for his long-lasting and loyal friendships, his help and mentorship that he gave to many, his love for adventure, calm and amused enjoyment of all life’s idiosyncrasies, and spirited creativity. He is preceded in death by his parents and sister Sally. He is survived by his wife, Mary; daughter Pier Sullivan (Nate) of Bloomington, Ind.; son Jack (Tucson, Ariz.); daughter Sally Leatherland (Centreville, Va.); brother-in-law Charles Dorr (Leesburg, Fla.); and three grandchildren: Max, Zachary and Taylor.
Jack’s life will be celebrated with friends and family in Colorado and Arizona at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the “Jack R. Madore Memorial Scholarship in Design Technology” at Ivy Tech in Bloomington, Ind.
