OCEAN RIDGE — John M. Regan Jr., or Jack, as he was called, left a rich legacy that went beyond academic achievements, military decorations, business promotions, board and trustee appointments, and all the other trappings of public visibility, said his oldest son, John M. Regan III, known as “Mac.”
Mr. Regan, former chairman and CEO of Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc., and a resident of Ocean Ridge, died Jan. 10 after a battle with cancer.
During his 13-year tenure as CEO, the company diversified its businesses significantly and developed a strategy to expand its operations globally, resulting in huge growth in the company’s revenue.
Mr. Regan, who retired in 1986, lived in New York for most of his career, where he was active in professional, business and charitable organizations including the Inner-city Scholarship Fund and the Cardinal’s Committee on Education for the Archdiocese of New York.
Born in Minneapolis on June 7, 1921, Mr. Regan was the oldest of three children of John M. and Philomena M. Regan. He graduated with honors from Yale University and also attended the Advanced Management Program at Harvard University’s School of Business Administration.
To join the war effort, Mr. Regan graduated five months early from Yale in 1943. He was a first lieutenant and platoon commander with the U.S. 22nd Infantry of the 4th Army Division during the Normandy campaign and was seriously wounded during a 1944 attack on Cherbourg. His bravery earned him a Bronze Star and Purple Heart.
Mac Regan said his father “was an exceptional leader of self and others, a thoughtful and generous care giver to not only family and friends but also to the church, to education and scholarship, and to his communities. He set an example as someone who constantly adapted and learned, maintaining an intellectual energy and vitality that stayed with him until the very end.”
As a way of saying thank you to those who stood by him over the years, Mr. Regan took 200 friends and family to Venice to celebrate the Millennium.
In letters written to his parents during the war, Mr. Regan noted how fortunate he was to have received such a good education in Minneapolis at the Annunciation School (primary) and St. Thomas Academy (secondary) and then later at Yale and Harvard.
But these were only the beginning of a lifelong learning process that included his wartime, business, social and family experiences — a process that he embraced and advanced through voracious reading, incessant conversation and observation, and active involvement in many interests.
“The only downside to having all this knowledge,” his son said, “was his urgency to share it at meals (like the breakfast lecture on the politics of the Cameroon) or while captive on one of his all-day (‘anyone want to go for a short sail?’) sailing days.”
Mr. Regan served as a trustee of Notre Dame University, Connecticut College, St. Vincent’s Hospital and New York Law School and as a director of Morgan Stanley Group, ACF Industries and the A.C. Nielson Co. He was a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Ocean Club of Florida, the Gulf Stream Bath and Tennis Club, the Misquamicut Club in Rhode Island and the Watch Hill Yacht Club, where he served as commodore for four years.
“Dad had endless enthusiasm,” his son said, “with great empathy and consideration for others, with an eccentric curiosity, and a self-effacing style that reflected what he always referred to as his Minnesota values and roots; but what were in reality the product of a life well-lived.”
Besides his wife, Prudence S. Regan, Mr. Regan is survived by two brothers, Robert M. Regan of Minneapolis and Richard F. Regan of Honolulu; six children, including John M. “Mac” Regan of Watch Hill, R.I., Deborah R. Edwards of Hartsdale, N.Y., Peter M. Regan of New Berlin, N.Y, R. Christopher Regan of Mendham, N.J., Prudence R. Hallarman of Lincolnshire, Ill., and William M. Regan of New York, N.Y., and nine grandchildren.
A private funeral was held in January and a memorial service is planned for June. Donations in Mr. Regan’s memory may be made to the Inner-City Scholarship Fund, 1011 1st Ave., #1400, New York, NY 10022-4112.
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