A Good Heart for Gordon and the Local Community

From his days as a Gordon student to his streak of attending 54 consecutive Homecomings, Jack Good proved a consistent force of joy and service to the Gordon community. He passed away in October 2020, and in 2022 Good was posthumously named the Gordon College Alumni of the Year.

The plan was risky: put a car in the library. "For some reason or another we got the idea to put a car in the library," remembers Gene Case '65, a classmate and friend of John "Jack" L. Good III '66. After careful maneuvering the group of campus pranksters, including Good and Case, completed their mission successfully. "It sat there all day, and the librarian [handled] it very nicely…But they couldn't figure out how to get it out." None other than Jack Good finally revealed the secret: they had moved a large desk to get the car into place. After Good offered this information the vehicle was removed, but the story remains popular campus lore to this day.

During his years as a student at Gordon, Good sang in the Gospel Team Quartet, studied biblical and theological studies and traveled on an athletic gospel team. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree, and while at Gordon he met Susan '66, a classmate who became his beloved wife of 53 years. After graduation Good started his career at Gordon as the vice president of community relations, marketing and development.

After his role at Gordon Good continued his career for 25 years at Beverly Hospital with Northeast Health Systems, responsible for development and raising funds. Good also spent time in his career at Beverly National Bank, Danversbank and People's United Bank. While he was known for his career accomplishments, Good's character and kindness were even more remarkable. At Beverly Hospital his door was always open. Good came out from behind his desk to sit and talk face-to-face with anyone who entered his office. Good was also a prominent member of the Beverly Hospital biweekly breakfast club. He accompanied Santa to the hospital on Christmas morning to visit the ailing children. In all things Good did, remembers Case, "it wasn't what he accomplished, but who he was [that mattered]."

Good spent countless hours volunteering at North Shore nonprofits and serving in leadership roles at organizations including North Shore United Way, American Heart Association, Essex National Heritage Commission, Beverly Bootstraps, Covenant Christian Academy and Bradford Christian Academy. He was the founding chairman of the North Shore Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Beverly Rotary Club and a 40-year volunteer firefighter for Essex County. He was the "go-to guy" for people new to the North Shore, always gracious and intentional about building connections. Yet, much of his heart for the North Shore included a love for his alma mater.

"Wherever he [went] people knew he was from Gordon. He was not shy about that at all," Case remarks. Good is the namesake of the College's Jack Good Community Service Award, bestowed annually since 1978 upon an alumni whose life and work reflect Good’s legacy. In 2022 the award was given to Megan (Footit) Lietz '09, founding director of the Race & Christian Community Initiative (RCCI) at the Emmanuel Gospel Center in Dorchester, MA.

Jack Good's legacy echoes through the North Shore of Boston. From Gordon's campus to Beverly Hospital's halls, through all the nonprofits he served and deep within his beloved church community, his presence is greatly missed as his contributions live on. "Gordon gave him so much…Jack [was happy to return] the favor," says Case. "He was the ambassador for Gordon; he was the face of Gordon. He was the heart and soul of Gordon. I mean, [Jack] was Gordon."