IN LOVING MEMORY OF
John Charles
Hackney
May 21, 1924 – December 30, 2015
Obituary
John Charles Hackney, Sr., 91, GE executive, D-Day participant, and musician, died peacefully after a long illness at home in West Chester, PA on Dec. 30, 2015.
John was born in the Philadelphia, PA neighborhood of Germantown to Oscar D. and Ruth E. (Schwalm) Hackney. He was the fourth oldest of six siblings, all now deceased.
He was raised in Ocean City, NJ where he was valedictorian of his class at Ocean City High School. He subsequently attended Georgia Institute of Technology to study engineering in the Army ROTC program.
During 1942 he left Georgia Tech to enlist in the US Army, and served as a Technical Sergeant in 116th Anti-Aircraft Battalion. John courageously landed at Utah Beach on D-Day during the invasion of Normandy, earning five battle stars including the Battle of the Bulge, the liberation of Paris, and the Central Europe and Rhineland campaigns.
Following the war, he enrolled in the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, graduating with a BS in Economics in 1950. At Penn, he was head cheerleader, undergraduate chairman of the Mask & Wig musical comedy club, and a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity. At graduation, he was honored with the prestigious "Bowl Man" award.
Upon graduation John joined the Business Training Course (BTC) at General Electric, and subsequently was appointed to GE's Corporate Audit Staff. After assignments throughout the US and Mexico, he became the head of finance for one of GE's business units, the youngest person to achieve such a position at the time. He spent his career in senior executive finance roles at GE in Philadelphia, King of Prussia, Pittsfield, MA and Syracuse, NY. He was instrumental in the construction of the Valley Forge Space Center in King of Prussia and the development of the Polaris missile, Gemini Spacecraft, and many other space and defense programs during his thirty-seven year career.
John was an accomplished pianist, composer and tap dancer whose aspirations to become a successful Broadway composer were curtailed as his GE career advanced. He composed many scores for Mask & Wig productions, and recorded a number of original compositions after graduation, frequently in duets with his sisters. John regularly entertained family and friends his entire life.
John was also an avid and long-time tennis player, playing for decades at the Waynesborough Country Club where he was a charter member.
For sixty-five years John dedicated his personal service to Penn, where he chaired many committees and organizations and cumulatively raised over $25 million for undergraduate scholarships. At the time of his passing he was serving as President of the Class of 1950 and a member of the Mask & Wig Board of Governors.
John is survived by his beloved wife of 59 years, Joan M. (Healy) Hackney; Allan and Jane (Burdette) Hackney; Jack Hackney, Jr. and his children Jillian, Oliver and Rose; Andillon Hackney, Robert Pastrana and their daughter Olivia Pastrana; and many nieces, nephews and cousins. In-lieu-of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Mask & Wig Club at http://donate.maskandwig.com/.
John was born in the Philadelphia, PA neighborhood of Germantown to Oscar D. and Ruth E. (Schwalm) Hackney. He was the fourth oldest of six siblings, all now deceased.
He was raised in Ocean City, NJ where he was valedictorian of his class at Ocean City High School. He subsequently attended Georgia Institute of Technology to study engineering in the Army ROTC program.
During 1942 he left Georgia Tech to enlist in the US Army, and served as a Technical Sergeant in 116th Anti-Aircraft Battalion. John courageously landed at Utah Beach on D-Day during the invasion of Normandy, earning five battle stars including the Battle of the Bulge, the liberation of Paris, and the Central Europe and Rhineland campaigns.
Following the war, he enrolled in the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, graduating with a BS in Economics in 1950. At Penn, he was head cheerleader, undergraduate chairman of the Mask & Wig musical comedy club, and a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity. At graduation, he was honored with the prestigious "Bowl Man" award.
Upon graduation John joined the Business Training Course (BTC) at General Electric, and subsequently was appointed to GE's Corporate Audit Staff. After assignments throughout the US and Mexico, he became the head of finance for one of GE's business units, the youngest person to achieve such a position at the time. He spent his career in senior executive finance roles at GE in Philadelphia, King of Prussia, Pittsfield, MA and Syracuse, NY. He was instrumental in the construction of the Valley Forge Space Center in King of Prussia and the development of the Polaris missile, Gemini Spacecraft, and many other space and defense programs during his thirty-seven year career.
John was an accomplished pianist, composer and tap dancer whose aspirations to become a successful Broadway composer were curtailed as his GE career advanced. He composed many scores for Mask & Wig productions, and recorded a number of original compositions after graduation, frequently in duets with his sisters. John regularly entertained family and friends his entire life.
John was also an avid and long-time tennis player, playing for decades at the Waynesborough Country Club where he was a charter member.
For sixty-five years John dedicated his personal service to Penn, where he chaired many committees and organizations and cumulatively raised over $25 million for undergraduate scholarships. At the time of his passing he was serving as President of the Class of 1950 and a member of the Mask & Wig Board of Governors.
John is survived by his beloved wife of 59 years, Joan M. (Healy) Hackney; Allan and Jane (Burdette) Hackney; Jack Hackney, Jr. and his children Jillian, Oliver and Rose; Andillon Hackney, Robert Pastrana and their daughter Olivia Pastrana; and many nieces, nephews and cousins. In-lieu-of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Mask & Wig Club at http://donate.maskandwig.com/.
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