Jerome C. Blackwood, for many years a major figure in the New England advertising community who founded the advertising agency bearing his name, Blackwood Associates Inc., passed away July 8, 2017, he was 86.
He is survived by his beloved wife of 54 years, Jeanne Stilwell Blackwood, son Andrew of Stamford, CT, Peter and daughter-in-law Carolan Hurley Blackwood of Hingham, MA, son David of Washington DC, daughter Susan of Boston, MA and five grandchildren; Nicholas, Stephanie, Madeleine, Elizabeth and Michael.
Jerry was born June 26, 1931 in Buffalo, NY and raised in Harbor Creek, PA. He attended Colgate University on an academic scholarship where he graduated Magna Cum Laude in 1953 and went on to be awarded an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1955.
He then served several years in the U.S. Army, primarily in the European theater, before launching his career in advertising at the DuPont Company in Wilmington DE, where he also met his future bride Jeanne Stilwell. He then traveled the world as Ford Motor Company’s International Advertising Executive. He and Jeanne moved to New England in 1964 to start raising their family and by 1974 he had also started his own ad agency, Blackwood Associates. Under his direction his agency was ranked one of the country’s most profitable small advertising firms.
An avid golfer, he was a member of Brae Burn Country Club, Nehoiden Golf Club and TPC Prestancia Country Club in Sarasota, FL. He was a member of St. John the Evangelist Parish in Wellesley and St. Thomas More in Sarasota. Jerry was known for his intelligence, honesty, loyalty, kindness and sense of humor. But most importantly he was a devoted and loving husband, father and grandfather.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Saturday, July 15 at Noon in St. John the Evangelist, 9 Glen Rd. Wellesley followed by interment in Woodlawn Cemetery. An hour of visitation will be held immediately prior to the Mass from 11AM-12PM in the Henry J. Burke & Sons Funeral Home, 56 Washington St. Wellesley.