John Rand Dies At 90

John Born Rand

John Rand of Bridgehampton and Manhattan died from complications of Parkinson’s disease and pneumonia on Wednesday, May 25, four days after his 90th birthday.

Born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1921, Mr. Rand graduated from the Chicago Latin School, then Phillips Exeter Academy, and Harvard. While at Harvard, he acted with the famed New England Repertory, also known as The Provincetown Players. In World War II, he served as a captain in the anti-aircraft artillery and fought in the Battle of the Bulge. At the end of the war, because of his fluency in French, Mr. Rand served as special service officer at Camp Top Hat, the American City in Antwerp, Belgium, where he directed theater productions and other entertainment for troops and visiting VIPs.

Back in the United States, he was named “Young Man of the Year” by the Junior Chamber of Commerce, and soon married Judith Lane of St. Paul, Minnesota. The couple wrote and directed a satirical revue called “Quick Changes,” which had a highly successful multi-year run in Chicago’s Near North Side.

Mr. Rand then began a 50-year career in advertising, first as a copywriter at Foote Cone and Belding in Chicago, and then as a senior vice president and creative director at Ogilvy and Mather in New York City, where he was recognized as a top talent in the business by master ad man, David Ogilvy. He was responsible for award-winning campaigns for Hallmark, Kleenex, Sears, Aim Toothpaste, Dove, S.C. Johnson and Mattel, among others. While at Ogilvy, Mr. Rand was responsible for the firm’s chief charitable program, the sponsorship of a block in East Harlem under the auspices of the Upper Park Avenue Community Association.

Mr. Rand retired to Bridgehampton, where he was an active member of the local Citizens Advisory Committee. He wrote a weekly column for The Southampton Press, called “Junior Seniors” which highlighted the lives of vibrant seniors on the East End of Long Island. He also wrote newsletters and marketing materials for Southampton Hospital, among other community organizations. He was an avid equestrian who rode weekly at Montauk’s Deep Hollow Ranch, well into his eighties.

Beyond all of his professional success, Mr. Rand won scores of friends and admirers for his true joie de vivre—his over-the-top humor, rare graciousness and infectious optimism.

He is survived by his daughters, Hilary Adams and Eliza Damiecki; and five grandchildren, Natalie, Genevieve and Griffin Adams, and Nina Ting and Ellie Tong Damiecki. His wife, Judy, also a writer of prose, poetry and film, died of cancer at age 64.

A private memorial will be held in July.

Memorial donations can be made to the Children’s Storefront School in East Harlem, thechildrensstorefrontschool.org, 70 East 129th Street, New York, NY 10035, (212) 427-7900.