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The extent of his influence was visible in the church’s pews, which were nearly full an hour before the funeral began. Organ music wafted over rows of mourners that included Governor Maura Healey, former governor Charlie Baker, Mayor Michelle Wu, former mayor Martin J. Walsh, former senator John Kerry, several members of Congress, and various CEOs.
In the eulogy, John Connors described his father as a master schmoozer who loved to work a room, shake hands, and exert influence.
“He loved being Jack,” John Connors said, drawing laughter from the crowd.
Related: Jack Connors' obituary
He was a man of bad jokes, fast exits, notes on his own impending eulogy, and an impish vengeful streak, his son said. He was the type of guy who always kept score of favors and slights alike, John Connors said, but you could always count on a fair tally.
The elder Connors’ schmoozing was underpinned by a genuine kindness, John Connors said, and a belief that people, whoever they are, should be treated right.
“No one was invisible to Dad,” he said. Connors “was on a mission to be nice to everybody.”
Therefore, John Connors said, he’s been delighted by how many good stories he’s heard over the past week about his father.
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Greg Keating, who attended the funeral, had that type of story. When he was a 21-year-old 6th-grade teacher dreaming of going to law school, Keating connected with Jack Connors through a mutual friend. He recalled sitting across from Connors in the older man’s giant 60th-floor office. Connors asked him some questions and then offered to help — but only if Keating did him a favor in return.
“I remember thinking, ‘What on earth could I do for Jack Connors?’” Keating said.
Connors told him there would come a day when Keating would be sitting on the other side of the table, the one with the power to say yes.
“Promise that if you believe in someone, you’ll do everything in your power to help them,” Keating recalled Connors saying.
Born to a poor Irish immigrant family, Connors worked his way through Boston College, and then rose to prominence after he and three friends opened the advertising agency Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopulos in 1968.
Chairing some of Boston’s most significant boards, including Partners HealthCare, Connors helped shape a merger between Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s hospitals and shepherd the evolution of Boston College from a commuter school to a nationally regarded institution.
Connors became a skilled fund-raiser, but he also donated nearly $100 million of his own earnings.
Connors conceived and helped create his last great venture, Camp Harbor View, 17 years ago in a partnership with then-Mayor Thomas Menino. The camp began as a summer retreat on Long Island in Boston Harbor to help middle-school children from the city’s poorest areas.
Jailen Pierre met Connors when he was 11 and attending the camp. Now at 24, he works for it, doing fund-raising. A few years ago, Connors took him to Sullivan’s on Castle Island for hot dogs.
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“He wanted to make sure I was doing the right things for my career — and also helping others,” Pierre said after the service.
Baker, the former governor who is president of the NCAA, had a similar story. He first met Connors when he was an 18, trying to fund-raise for Big Brothers Big Sisters. The drive wasn’t really working, but people kept telling him not to worry — they should just call Jack Connors. They did, and they got the money.
Connors wouldn’t have been much older than 30, Baker figures.
“He was raising money for and supporting the community since he was very young,” Baker said.
Connors fit comfortably into the predominantly Catholic power structure of Irish- and Italian-Americans who ran the city during the 20th century. But he sought to embrace coming change and supported Wu, the first woman and person of color to be elected mayor.
Speaking after the service, Wu said she got to know Connors when she ran for the office in 2021. The two bonded over a walk around Roslindale, where the mayor lives and both knew well.
“Jack Connors had time for everyone,” she said.
Cardinal Seán O’Malley, the archbishop of the Boston archdiocese, told mourners: “Jack was not a celebrity — he was a hero. He was a man of deeds.”
During the eulogy, John Connors made reference to a question that’s already been making the rounds in the media: Who will be the next Jack Connors, the one working both publicly and behind the scenes to get those deeds done?
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“Today the torch is passed,” he said. “It’s passed to the next generation of you in the room today.”
He added, “There is still more work to be done.”
Nick Stoico and Tonya Alanez of the Globe staff contributed.
Sean Cotter can be reached at sean.cotter@globe.com. Follow him @cotterreporter. Stella Tannenbaum can be reached at stella.tannenbaum@globe.com.
