Spotlight on Jack Stebe – Sunrise Rotary SaddleBrooke
One of the founding members of the Sunrise club—and later its president—Jack was born in Biwabik, Minnesota in 1944, the oldest of five children and, by all accounts, the family’s early test case for adventure.
Jack’s father was an educator, principal, and guidance counselor who inspired his son to push the limits of life. He was the wind beneath Jack’s wings—quite literally—encouraging him to learn to fly. Jack earned his pilot’s license before he finished high school, waxing planes at the airport to fund his adventure.
Jack excelled in tennis and developed a lifelong passion for hockey that began on the Iron Range in Northern Minnesota. Little did he know that his high school newspaper route—taken on for extra spending money—would help launch the next chapter of his life.
The paper recognized Jack with a $200 prize. That recognition led to a scholarship at Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire and a glimpse of a lifestyle he had never imagined. After a year he returned to Minnesota, but New England had already worked its magic. He later chose Dartmouth College to play collegiate hockey and earn an engineering degree.
More important than hockey or his degree, however, was that at Dartmouth he found his New England lighthouse in life—Nancy, who was pursuing a nursing degree nearby.
Originally from Boston, Nancy provided the steady light that helped Jack navigate the “rocks” of life, including a 20-year Air Force career. He graduated from the USAF Test Pilot School and served as both a U-2 and test pilot, including a Vietnam tour of duty. Not one to waste spare time, Jack also earned an MBA through evening classes at Golden Gate University.
He later worked as an engineering manager at Draper Laboratory in Cambridge, Massachusetts (MIT). Following his career at Draper Laboratory, Jack became president of a company that built and maintained flight inspection equipment worldwide—proof that retirement-level energy can begin surprisingly early in life.
Jack and Nan’s connection to Tucson began in 1973 with an Air Force move. Along the way Nancy worked as an Operating Room Nurse, they raised four sons, welcomed six grandchildren, and moved more than 20 times—including four moves within SaddleBrooke. (At this point, Nancy could probably pack a house in under two hours.)
During one East Coast relocation, they even ran a bed-and-breakfast and came away with enough stories to fill at least one book—and possibly write a comedy series.
Always looking for the next adventure, Jack has enjoyed sailing (cruising a 35-foot boat), soaring gliders, pickleball, square dancing, and ten years of RV travel—clearly determined never to let the dust settle for long.
An early riser, Jack found a perfect fit in helping form the Sunrisers. He believes the club truly represents the spirit of Rotary— “Service Above Self.” The club’s dedication to serving the Copper Corridor evokes childhood memories of the Iron Range of northern Minnesota, where the iron ore mines played out and changed his hometown forever.
Jack and Nancy recently moved back to SaddleBrooke after a five-year hiatus in New England. If history repeats itself, Jack predicts another move in about five years—right about the time Nancy finishes the garden and the lighthouse once again feels the call of New England’s rocky shores.
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