John C. Scully, 82, of Vero Beach, passed away on Oct. 21, 2014.
He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Barbara A. Scully; brothers, Jerome Scully and Richard Scully; sister, Frances Riendeau; children, Kathleen Scully-Hayes (James D.), Margaret Crawford (Michael), John C. Scully, Jr. (Michele), James F. Scully (Claire), Patricia Gleason (Garrett), Maryellen O’Malley (Joseph), and Susan Scully- Rose (Thomas); 11 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his son, John C. Scully, Jr. and his grandson, Emmett Joseph O’Malley.
Scully was born on March 16, 1932, in Springfield, Mass., and in 1953, received a B.A. degree from the College of the Holy Cross. Five days after graduating from college, he joined the John Hancock Life Insurance Company in Boston as a management trainee. That same year, he married Barbara Ann Fougere.
In 1954, Scully joined the U.S. Army during the Korean conflict. He returned to John Hancock as a supervisor in 1956, and held a variety of positions with the company during his career. He earned his Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) designation in 1963. He was appointed field vice president in 1966, and in 1967 became the John Hancock general agent for the Indianapolis, Ind., office.
After a successful career as general agent, he returned to John Hancock’s Boston home office in 1975 as senior vice president. In 1980 he was promoted to executive vice president, individual operations, and in 1987 he advanced to the position of president of the retail sector, where he headed John Hancock’s 8,000 person sales and marketing operation, until he retired in 1991.
Between 1980 and 1991, Scully also was elected to John Hancock’s board of directors and served as chairman of the boards of the Life Insurance Marketing Research Association (LIMRA), the Life Underwriters Training Council (LUTC) and the Insurance Institute at Northeastern University. He received the honorary degree of doctor of commercial sciences from Suffolk University in 1986.
In 1992, he was appointed President and CEO of LIMRA International, where he strengthened and enhanced both the research capacity and the financial stability of the organization. After retiring from LIMRA, Scully was appointed to the Board of Directors for American United Life Insurance Company (AUL), Indianapolis, Ind., where he served from 1997 until 2007.
Scully was active in many civic and educational institutions. He was past chairman and a member of the General Board of Directors for the Greater Boston YMCA; a director of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce; past President of the Boston Jaycees; a member of the President’s Council at the College of the Holy Cross; a member of the Board of Trustees at Springfield College and at Suffolk University; Chairman of the United States Holocaust Memorial committee for Massachusetts; and a trustee for the Greater Boston Catholic Charities. He is also a former trustee and member of the Board of Governors of the New England Medical Center.
He and his wife Barbara established the Barbara A. and John C. Scully, DCS ’86 Scholarship at Suffolk University, for Sawyer School of Management students. He was an active participant at St. Paul’s Catholic Church, Wellesley, Mass, St. Pius X Church, Indianapolis, Ind., and the Holy Cross Church, Vero Beach.
Scully was a world traveler and sports enthusiast. He and Barbara traveled the world together. Their travels included visits to countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. He was an avid Boston Red Sox fan and a rabid New England Patriots fan.
Memorial contributions may be made to the YMCA of Greater Boston, P.O. Box 845901, Boston, MA, 02284-5901.
Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m., Oct. 24, at Strunk Funeral Home in Vero Beach followed by a prayer service at 6:30 p.m. at the funeral home. Funeral Mass and burial will take place in Wellesley, Mass. A guest book is available at www.strunkfuneralhome.com.
