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Fenwick “Forty-Niner” Jack Spatafora Has Died

Fenwick alumnus Jack Spatafora ’49 of Park Ridge, IL, passed away on February 3, 2022. In 1957, Jack was hired by the Dominican Fathers as one of the first lay instructors at Fenwick, teaching U.S. history.
Fenwick alumnus Jack Spatafora ’49 of Park Ridge, IL, passed away on February 3, 2022. In 1957, Jack was hired by the Dominican Fathers as one of the first lay instructors at Fenwick, teaching U.S. history.
 
Mr. Spatafora received his bachelor’s degree from Loyola University Chicago and a master’s from Northwestern University, where he also completed doctoral work in history. He went on to chair and reform history curricula during a 40-year career in education. After teaching at Fenwick, he moved on to public secondary schools in Niles and Winnetka, IL, as well as Loyola University (Chicago).
 
He also wrote professionally, penning network documentaries and executive speeches for U.S. presidents, ambassadors and Fortune 500 CEOs. Spatafora continued to write prolifically in his latter years and, following his 70th reunion in 2019, penned a guest blog for the “Friar Files.” (Read “Learning about the Big 3: Facts, Ideas and Values.”)
 
Jack Spatafora is a 2008 inductee of the school’s Hall of Fame. The Fenwick community sends its condolences to his wife, Joan, and his brother, Dick (Fenwick Class of 1956) and their families.
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