Jack MacNIDER

MACNIDER, LOCHER, HANSEN, HOUGHTON, SKRAM, SCHAEFER, SCHURTZ, BOLIN

Posted By: Sharon R. Becker (email)
Date: 4/12/2011 at 01:37:18

The Globe Gazette
Mason City, Cerro Gordo County, Iowa
date missing from clipping

Industrialist Jack MacNider dies at age 73

MASON CITY - Jack MacNIDER, 73, retired industrialist and member of a family synonymous with Mason City for more than a century, died Tuesday [November 28, 2000] at home, 2003 Fourth St. S.E., Mason City, of cancer.

His passing was noted with sadness by family, friends and acquaintances.

MacNIDER, 73, was former president and CEO of Northwestern States Portland Cement Co., in which his family held controlling interest from 1908 until 1990.

"It's pretty hard to define somebody with an adjective or two, but we've lost a giant," said Mason City attorney Jim LOCHER.

LOCHER, MacNIDER'S attorney for 25 years, said MacNIDER had an unusual combination of qualities. "He was a most charming and gracious man. He was very well-liked by people from all walks of life."

MacNIDER'S son, Charlie, said his father was a "nationally-recognized businessman who chose to live and work in Mason City."

"He was, above all, a straight-shooter who didn't tolerate people who weren't. You always knew where he stood. If he liked you, he was loyal to a fault. He has left Mason City and the people who knew and loved him a legacy which will be difficult to live up to."

Charlie MacNIDER said his father was a very private person.

Born Feb. 21, 1927, to Gen. Hanford and Margaret MacNIDER, Jack MacNIDER attended elementary school in Mason City, then Milton Academy at Milton, Mass. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II.

MacNIDER graduated from Harvard University with a degree in business in 1950 and earned a master's degree with distinction from the Harvard School of Business Administration in 1952.

He was married to Margaret HANSEN of Bettendorf in 1950.

MacNIDER worked briefly in market research with U.S. Steel at Pittsburgh before returning to work in the sales department at Northwestern States in Mason City. He was elected to the board of directors in 1954, promoted as assistant to the president in 1955, vice president in charge of sales in 1956, vice president and assistant general manager in 1959 and president and general manager in 1960.

During his many years in Mason City, he served as an officer with numerous local organizations and on many local, state and national boards.

He was president of the Mason City Area Chamber of Commerce in 1962, the year of the "Music Man" premiere Band Festival celebration; a director of the National Association of Manufacturers; president of the Iowa Manufacturers Association; president of the national Portland Cement Association; a director of the Midwest Research Institute in Kansas City; and an admissions director for Harvard University.

In 1999, MacNIDER was awarded the Meredith WILLSON Heritage Award during the North Iowa Band Festival, acknowledging his humanitarian and philanthropic achievements and honoring his volunteer and community service.

His best friend from college was U.S. Congressman Amory HOUGHTON of New York. MacNIDER was also a close friend of John RUAN of Des Moines, said Charlie MacNIDER.

Art SKRAM, a longtime friend and neighbor who managed Indianhead Farms and also managed Northwestern States Portland Cement Co. when MacNIDER was president, had known MacNIDER since 1952.

"He was a loyal, treasured friend," he said. "We had a great business relationship at Indianhead Farms for 30 years. His legacy will live on in Mason City for a long time. Mason City has lost a great citizen."

Mason City businessman Tom SCHAEFER, president of Henkel Construction Co., described MacNIDER as "probably the most gregarious and gracious guy I've ever known.

"He loved people. He had a way of making you feel important and that you were his friend. I'm really saddened," SCHAEFER said.

Russell SCHURTZ, a Mason City physician who first got to know MacNIDER while working summers at Northwestern States Portland Cement Co. during college, said he had lost "a very close personal friend.

"The one thing I was impressed with Jack was his respect for basically everyone," SCHURTZ said. "Even if you didn't share his point of view, he still respected you. He liked people. He was very, very attached to his family and friends."

Shirley BOLIN, owner of Shirley's Attic in Mason City, had rented space for her store from MacNIDER for 10 years.

"It was an honor to know him," she said. "There are no words to explain how kind he was to me. He told me, if there was ever anything he could do for me, to come to him and he'd take care of it."

Even near the end of his life, she said, "He always had a smile."

Survivors include his wife, Margaret HANSEN MacNIDER, his son, Charles Hanford MacNIDER, and two granddaughters.

There will be no funeral service. Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of North Iowa, the MacNIDER Art Museum Foundation or the Mason City Public Library.

Fullerton Funeral Home in charge of arrangements.

Transcription by Sharon R. Becker, April of 2011