John “Jack” S. Thorpe

On November 16, 2021
25 Comments

Musician and beloved community member John (Jack) S. Thorpe passed away on October 31^st, 2021 at the age of 64. Jack worked at Carnegie Mellon University for 32 years in various support roles and always had a story and advice for anyone who needed it. He was an advocate for equal rights and deeply rooted in Allegheny County where he was born and lived his entire life.

Jack’s greatest pleasure was music. He was entirely self-taught and never took a lesson, learning to play the harmonica and guitar strictly by ear. Blues was his favorite genre, but he rarely heard any music he disliked. He played often with friends and family and even moonlighted with a few local bands. His brilliance and talent were noticed by everyone who came into his sphere. Jack is remembered with love by Gregory and Deborah Roberts, Amy Sinelli, Anna and Scott Cowan, Amanda Kin, Keri Vanderpool, and George Drum.

Jack’s remains will be taken to the Thorpe family cemetery in Ohiopyle, Pa for a private ceremony. In lieu of flowers the family asks that you give a donation in Jack’s name to your local food bank or Creative Life Support, an organization in Allegheny County that helps bring music to those who need it most.

25 Comments

Jon Minden

Nov 16 2021

Jack brought so many smiles to the people who knew him at Mellon Institute. I loved our conversations about music. I also loved hearing his stories about his friends. My wife and I especially loved his references to SCTV (hey, you stole my smokes you knob) and our Canadian heritage.

Amanda E Kin

Nov 17 2021

Thank you for that memory, I can hear him saying hey, you stole my smokes you knob. :)

Ruth Ann Maloney

My heart is broken 💔😭 I feel awful for not staying in touch and not being able to say goodbye, but I know he knew he was loved and I would’ve done anything for him! Jack was an amazing light and the coolest dude I ever met. His knowledge was endless, his stories entertaining and his soul was just beautiful ❤️ We are birthday twins and I will forever celebrate him on our special day. While I’m thankful he is no longer suffering this world will not be the same without him. Love you buddy RIP

Amanda Kin

Nov 18 2021

Please don't feel awful for not staying in touch, he was constantly surrounded by friends and family. Celebrating him on your shared birthday is awesome, he would love knowing you thought of him every year on that day.

Mark Ladner

I had the privilege of knowing Jack since 1996 when I started working at CMU. I worked with him in the copy center and to work side by side with him was certainly an experience. I never laughed so hard in my life. The stories… the music… the one liners (oh my god the one liners!) So after leaving Mellon Institute for 9 years to work elsewhere on campus I was fortunate enough to return to work there again about 9 years ago and my first thought was “I get to see Jack every day again!!!” And we picked up right where we left off. I feel fortunate to have considered Jack a true friend and I’ll never watch Caddyshack or listen to the blues the same again. To his family I send you my sincere condolences and prayers as I along with countless others share your sorrow.

Nov 29 2021

Thank you so much for those memories. Jack had the greatest one-liners many of which are still said around the table during holidays. I am glad he had such an effect on you and it will help his memory live on. :)

Brigitte F Schmidt

My condolences to the Thorpe family. I have known Jack for many years working in the Mellon Institute. We shared a love for music and history. Jack had an incredible knowledge of history, As a German citizen it was delightful to compare with him our different political systems. There were quite a number of folks who thought that Jack was a history professor at CMU. I believe he would have been a fabulous teacher and the students never would have had a dull moment with him. I loved his smile, his twinkling eyes and how he greeted me with a perfectly pronounced „Frau“. He was one of the most respected people in my life for having principles, being kind to people and being true to himself.

He was such a giant history buff, the family always got on him for not finishing his education and becoming a teacher. He taught all of us so much and none of us wanted to play against him in trivia games :) Thank you for that memory of him.

Cynthia Davis

My deepest sympathy to the family. Jack was a very special guy and a friend for those 30+ years. We bonded over the blues and politics. I will miss him dearly.

Dec 1 2021

Thank you very much. He had the deepest knowledge of blues and loved to talk about it.

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