Jack Borgenicht

{{Infobox person

| name = Jack Borgenicht

| birth_date = August 29, 1911

| birth_place = Manhattan, New York City

| death_date = {{death date and age|2005|8|25|1911|8|29}}

| death_place = Long Valley, New Jersey

| organization = Jack Borgenicht, Inc.

| spouse = {{plainlist|

{{marriage|Grace Borgenicht Brandt|1938||end=divorced}}
{{marriage|Peri Borgenicht|March 26, 1954|1964|end=divorced}}
Dale Borgenicht Blum
{{marriage|Fran Bennett Borgenicht|1995}}

}}

| children = 10, including Ruth Borgenicht

}}

Jacob 'Jack' Moses Borgenicht (August 29, 1911 – August 25, 2005){{Cite news|last=|first=|date=2005-08-27|title=Paid Notice: Deaths BORGENICHT, JACOB MOSES JACK|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/27/classified/paid-notice-deaths-borgenicht-jacob-moses-jack.html|url-status=live|access-date=2019-09-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190903141605/https://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/27/classified/paid-notice-deaths-borgenicht-jacob-moses-jack.html|archive-date=2019-09-03|issn=0362-4331}} was an American entrepreneur, land use preservation activist, garment manufacturer, millionaire, restaurant owner, philanthropist and mountaineer. He was the oldest person to climb Mount Rainier at the age of 81.

Biography

He was born Jacob Moses Borgenicht to a Jewish family in Manhattan, New York. He was the youngest of 14 siblings born to prominent garment manufacturers Regina (née Reich) and Louis Borgenicht, both from Austria-Hungary, Regina being from Presov, Transleithania and Louis from Zakliczyn, Galicia.{{Cite book|title=Outliers: The Story of Success|last=Gladwell|first=Malcolm|publisher=Little, Brown and Company|year=2008|isbn=978-0316017923|location=New York - Boston - London|pages=Chapter 5}}{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Louis Borgenicht: How to Do Meaningful Work that Matters|url=https://deanyeong.com/meaningful-work/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210131225149/https://www.deanyeong.com/article/meaningful-work|archive-date=2021-01-31|access-date=2019-09-03|website=Dean Yeong|language=en-US}}{{Cite book |last=Friedman |first=Harold |title=The Happiest Man: The Life of Louis Borgenicht |publisher=G.P. Putnam's Sons |year=1942 |location=New York}} He grew up in Hunter, New York, and spent two years attending New York University.

= Career =

He dropped out of college during the Great Depression to help the family clothing manufacturing company Borgenicht and Spiro. He formed his own company, Jack Borgenicht Inc., in 1944.{{Cite news|last=Freehling|first=Alison|date=1996-01-01|title=High Profile: Jack Borgenicht|language=en-US|newspaper=Daily Press (Virginia)|url=https://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-xpm-19960101-1996-01-01-9601010056-story.html|url-status=dead|access-date=2019-09-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190601170945/https://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-xpm-19960101-1996-01-01-9601010056-story.html|archive-date=2019-06-01}}{{Cite web|title=Jack Borgenicht - Company Profile and News - Bloomberg Markets|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/6746388Z:US|access-date=2019-09-03|website=Bloomberg.com}}

= Mountain climbing =

Starting at the age of 78, Borgenicht and his climbing partner, College of William and Mary kinesiology professor Ken Kambis, climbed Mount Elbert and on August 30, 1992, he became the oldest person to climb Mount Rainier at age 81,{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=1992-10-25|title=81-Year-Old Man Scales Mt. Rainier|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-10-25-me-834-story.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190903134323/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-10-25-me-834-story.html|archive-date=2019-09-03|access-date=2019-09-03|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}} with additional plans to climb Mount Kiliminjaro and Mount Everest.

= Marriage and children =

Borgenicht was married four times; once to Grace Borgenicht Brandt (m. 1938) art gallery owner, and then three others. On March 26, 1954, he married Peri Gilbert Borgenicht Winkler, stockbroker, literary agent; they divorced in 1964.{{Cite news|first=Alfred |last=Albelli |title= He's Caught in Bed, Alone, Divorced |newspaper=The New York Daily News|date= May 22, 1964|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/460277321/ }} He then married Dale Borgenicht Blum, award and antique shop owner. His fourth wife was Fran Bennett Borgenicht (m. 1995) Broadway producer.{{Cite news|first=Richard |last=Stradling |title= Man Gives $1 Million to W&M |newspaper=Daily Press (Virginia) |date=February 8, 1995 |url= https://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-xpm-19950208-1995-02-08-9502080030-story.html }} He had twelve children including ceramic artist Ruth Borgenicht and painter Lois Borgenicht.

= Legacy =

On his death, he arranged to make multi-million dollar charitable donations to the College of William and Mary to fund the Foundation for Aging Studies and Exercise Science Research and a Hypoxia/Altitude Physiology Research Facility{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=TFASESR Jack Borgenicht Biography|url=https://tfasesr.com/jack-bio.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190903123035/https://tfasesr.com/jack-bio.htm|archive-date=2019-09-03|access-date=2019-09-03|website=The Foundation for Aging Studies and Exercise Science Research}}{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Jack Borgenicht Hypoxia/Altitude Physiology Research Facility {{!}} William & Mary|url=https://www.wm.edu/as/kinesiology/research/lab-pages/jbarf/index.php|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112010716/https://www.wm.edu/as/kinesiology/research/lab-pages/jbarf/index.php|archive-date=2020-11-12|access-date=2019-09-03|website=www.wm.edu}}

Five years after his death, the New Jersey Conservation Foundation and its partners, including the Morris County Open Space Trust Fund, bought his 228-acre estate in Long Valley, New Jersey for $2.8 million for open space preservation.{{Cite web|last=Goldberg|first=Dan|date=2010-12-08|title=N.J. to purchase, preserve millionaire's Long Valley land as open space|url=https://www.nj.com/news/2010/12/nj_to_purchase_preserve_eccent.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200813121702/https://www.nj.com/news/2010/12/nj_to_purchase_preserve_eccent.html|archive-date=2020-08-13|access-date=2019-09-03|website=nj.com|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=2010-12-07|title=Morris Helps Preserve 228 Wooded Acres in Long Valley|url=https://morriscountynj.gov/2010/12/morris-helps-preserve-228-wooded-acres-in-long-valley/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201016195459/https://morriscountynj.gov/2010/12/morris-helps-preserve-228-wooded-acres-in-long-valley/|archive-date=2020-10-16|access-date=2019-09-03|website=Morris County, NJ|language=en-US}}

Philosophical and/or political views

Borgenicht has stated that The Anatomy of Peace by Emery Reves expresses his philosophy best. Winston Churchill and Yasser Arafat were his role models.