Jacob "Jack" Alexander Samely

Jack was born in Hafai, Israel on October 2, 1941. During his youth, Jack lived in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. At the age of 15, Jack graduated high school early, skipping two grades and went to live in Frankfurt, Germany, where he managed the family nightclub for two years. Jack was also fluent in many languages.

In 1961, Jack came to the United States to attend Milwaukee School of Engineering and received a degree in Computer Science/Chemical Engineering in 1964.

Jack’s first job was working for the National Cash Register Company (NCR) located in Dayton, Ohio. He later joined the UNIVAC Division of the Sperry Rand Corporation as a Systems Analyst. In 1969, he was transferred to UNIVAC’s New York Regional Education Department where he worked as an instructor teaching Computer Language Courses.

(In 1972, Jack became a Citizen of the United States of America.)

In 1974, Directors and Department Heads from Bell Laboratories attended his classes. They were very impressed with Jack and made him an offer to join the Bell System and placed him in the Stevens Institute of Technology Computer Science Master’s Degree Program. He received his degree in 1975. He then became a Member of the Technical Staff for Bell Laboratories.

It was also in 1975 while working in the Standards organization, Jack met his future wife, Laura, who was the Administrative Associate for the department. They married in May of 1977 and their marriage of 43 years lasted until his death.

In 1984, during the breakup of the Bell System, Jack was transferred to AT&T where he continued working until his retirement.

During his adult years, Jack loved history and traveling. He also learned to fly a small Cessna aircraft.

Jack loved to run and ran in the very first New York City marathon around Central Park.

His favorite teams were the Green Bay Packers and the New York Mets. He also enjoyed World Cup Soccer.

Surviving is his beloved wife, Laura, his son, Mark, his daughter Rachel, and his stepson, Scott. Jack also leaves behind his grandson, Jordan, his daughter-in-law, Amanda and his son-in-law, Morris.

During the COVID Pandemic, there were no services held after his cremation.

Jack loved his family and friends and wanted them all to remember him during all the good times.

NOTE: The family has been very distraught during Jack’s illness and his passing. We offer our apologies for postponing the writing of his obituary.