Obituary of John C Ostling, Jr.

John Carl Ostling, Jr., universally known as Jack, born on November 19, 1939, passed peacefully from emphysema and pneumonia, on January 4 th , surrounded by his loving family. Jack was born in Jamaica, Queens, and remained a New Yorker by heart and choice. He was the first born of John Carl Ostling and Margaret Reilly Ostling, and was joined by his brothers Edward (who passed at 80 in 2023) and Paul. 

Jack loved his family with a passion. His beloved wife, Mary Lou, was by his side for 61 years of marriage, and became his guardian angel. She was the woman every man hopes to have at his back. He is also survived by his son John Carl III and his wife Adriana, and their two sons, John Carl IV and Victor Andrew, and by his daughter Karen Louise and her husband Richard Jack. When his family moved to Westbury, LI, Jack commuted to complete his high school years at Power Memorial Academy. While at Power, Jack worked at the Dillon Tie Shop (where Lincoln Center would eventually grow), and then as a butcher’s apprentice at Ellne; Pike in Westbury. Jack was proud that he had begun working at the age of 12 as a LI Press delivery boy in Jamaica. Though not so subtle encouragement from his mom, Marge, steered him toward what would become a highly successful academic career, Jack never let the blue collar-union chip fall far from his shoulder.

Jack received a BA degree and a Masters in English Literature at Saint John’s University. He excelled in all things academic, and initially became a teaching assistant at SJU. He was a proud member of the Zeta Sigma Pi fraternity, and was joined there by his brother Ed. All three brothers became lifelong SJU Redmen fans (as well as Jets and Mets fans) and developed a tradition of attending games together, eventually with their kids, at MSG, Alumni Hall, Shea and MetLife. It will be hard for his family to watch any of these games now without phoning Jack at halftime and after the games — we’ll have to communicate with him in heaven.
 

The most fortunate consequence of this academic path, however, was Jack’s sighting of Mary Lou at Saint John’s. He absolutely knew that he had outkicked his cover when she agreed to marry him.

Jack pursued doctoral studies at both NYU, in English literature, specializing in Middle English (and could read and recite Beowulf in its original text) and at Columbia, where his thesis was a ground-breaking study of adult education in professional institutions. He capitalized on those lessons by creating new (including historically new) degree programs as the Dean of Liberal Arts at New York Tech and as the Vice President for Academic Affairs at Nassau Community College. Informing all of these efforts was an intense and lifelong commitment to civil rights, which elicited wide admiration and, occasionally, trouble. Despite the demands of these senior leadership roles, Jack insisted on continuing to teach whenever possible, and his classes attracted the same following he had since he
was a graduate instructor. Jack was also an accomplished and published poet. Jack remained as sharp as a tack until the very end, starting each day with his beloved coffee and the New York Times. At 83 he announced that he was going to relearn Latin, and he did! While we are sorely missing Jack here, and always will, we are pretty sure that he is developing a new and innovative curriculum beyond Heaven’s Gate.

We love you, Jack. Go in peace. We’ll see you later.

In Lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Lung Association