John F. Sand Jr. (Jack) devoted husband, father, friend and community humanitarian
Jack Sand died peacefully in his sleep December 25, 2009 at his home in Bristol, CT. Jack was born in Newark, NJ on July 13, 1932 the son of the late John and Marie (Gallagher) Sand. He attended Seton Hall Prep in West Orange, NJ and graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1954 after which he served in the US Army for two years. Jack worked for Barnes Group Inc. in Bristol, CT from 1977 until 1998, completing a 40-year career in corporate communications and community relations. He was a parishioner of Saint Joseph Roman Catholic Church in Bristol for over 30 years.
On December 26, 1955 he married Carol M. Byrne of Orange, NJ. They lived in Texas during his service years, then returned to New Jersey, and later moved to Connecticut, eventually settling in Bristol.
His family was his life, and he was forever proud of them. Carol is eternally grateful that Jack's strength of character, honor and respect for others lives on in their children.
Jack enjoyed his time with family and friends, passionately following ND football and basketball teams, and was active ND alum. He was an enthusiastic life-long Boston Red Sox fan, enjoying countless games with family and friends from his treasured seats often while recounting some of his favorite and not so favorite Sox moments over the past 70 plus years.
In addition to the above, his interests and passions were varied and included golf, history, aviation, politics and of course fine food.
Jack was deeply involved in and unselfishly committed to the Bristol community. In 2001 he was a recipient of the Humanitarian Service Award from the Bristol Boys and Girls Clubs. In 1986, Jack joined the Bristol Rotary Club where he helped the Club raise over $250K for local youth and charitable organizations through the annual Bristol Rotary/Barnes Group Golf Tournament. He is past president of rotary and a Paul Harris Fellow. Other examples of Jack’s community involvement include, he served as a director of the Greater Bristol Chamber of Commerce; served as a trustee on the board of the Wheeler Clinic; was active and chairman for 4 years on the West Central Advisory Board of the American Red Cross; served as a trustee of the Environmental Learning Centers of Connecticut, Inc.; was an active member of The Main Street Community Foundation; a director of the New England Carousel Museum; and headed the Loaned Executive program for the United Way.
Jack was predeceased by his beloved daughters Beth (Sand) Gunning and Ellen Sand. He leaves behind his Belmar sweetheart and the love of his life for 54 years Carol, daughter Kathy, son Steve and his spouse Patricia English-Sand, Beth’s spouse Ken Gunning, two brothers Gregory W. Sand and Alan F. Sand; numerous brothers and sisters-in-law, cousins, nieces and nephews.
Visiting hours will be held at the Dupont Funeral Home on Tuesday from 5 to 8 p.m. A mass at St. Joseph’s Church will take place Wednesday at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Environmental Learning Centers of Connecticut, Inc. in Bristol (860) 589-8200, or the Bristol Boys & Girls Club Association (860) 583-4734.
