Samuel W. Jack Jr.

Biography

Samuel W. Jack Jr., a successful businessman and philanthropist in Indiana, was the president of the S.W. Jack Drilling Company and J and J Enterprises.

Oil and gas drilling industry leaders recognized Jack’s leadership for introducing portable wheel-mounted rotary drilling equipment to the Appalachian Basin. That production technology is said to have revolutionized oil and gas exploration in this region of the country.

Under Jack’s leadership, the S.W. Jack Drilling Company became the largest independent drilling operation east of the Mississippi River, and J and J Enterprises grew to become the largest independent producer of natural gas in the eastern United States.

Jack served for 16 years as a director of S&T Bancorp and as the chairman of the board from 1983 to 1990; was an advocate for Citizens’ Ambulance Service; and was a founder of the Life Flight medical helicopter transportation service.

Well-known as a benefactor of Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Jack and his wife, Nell, endowed a distinguished lecturer series and he was recognized when the university named its cogeneration power plant in his honor.

His associates considered Jack an outstanding person, ever loyal to Indiana County, and he and his wife were honored in 1983 with the Indiana Countian Award for excellence. Jack also was named a director emeritus of the chamber in 1983.

A former member of the Indiana County Chamber of Commerce once said, “Sam Jack has displayed to us that integrity, loyalty, bravery and courage are elementary to the action of a giant, but are common only to a few in each generation.”