Patricia Malgieri, the former head of the Center for Governmental Research think-tank, can’t forget her first meeting with John “Dutch” Summers.
She’d made a presentation to Mr. Summers and other local business and community leaders active in CGR, hoping for support for an expansion beyond Rochester. “He said to me after, ‘That was the worst presentation I’ve ever seen,’ and he walked out,” Malgieri said.
Later, she met Mr. Summers for breakfast — he said he admired her willingness to go back “into the lion’s den,” Malgieri remembered — and he was more impressed with why and how she imagined the expansion. He and others backed it, and CGR continued to grow. The two thereafter became close friends.
For those who knew Mr. Summers, the former chief executive officer of Jasco Tools and a philanthropist who worked to attack vexing community issues, this was not uncommon. Mr. Summers, who died April 7 at the age of 84, spoke his mind, and was willing to forge ahead with projects that he thought would be beneficial to the Rochester region. He knew that a larger presence for CGR would help with the future of the public policy institute.
“Dutch did not have filters,” said Bob Duffy, president and chief executive officer of the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce and former mayor and lieutenant governor. “He would tell you exactly what he thought. In today’s world, that is refreshing. … He had this gruff kind of exterior but he had this heart that was huge.”
Many who knew Mr. Summers never knew the breadth of his philanthropy, whether on large scale or smaller.
“He didn’t go around blowing his horn,” said former Rochester Mayor Bill Johnson.
Duffy recalled a young man who was dating a young woman in Mr. Summers’ company, and the young man, a stellar college athlete, had no car. Mr. Summers was so impressed with the young man’s work ethic and character that he bought one for him.
“Dutch was probably not aware of any NCAA rules or anything,” Duffy said. “He was not a sports booster.”
When the man signed a professional contract — Duffy said he did not want to identify him publicly without permission — he wrote a letter to Mr. Summers and included money for the car.
“Common sense” individual
Though Mr. Summers did eventually enter the public arena in a public way, most notably with a coalition called The Rump Group that tried to mold public policy, much of his work was behind the scenes — as was his ample philanthropy.
“Dutch was a very common sense kind of guy,” said former Rochester City School District Superintendent Bolgen Vargas, who has his own “presentation” story. When district superintendent, Vargas made a presentation to the Chamber of Commerce, telling how he thought the school district could turn a corner to a better future. Mr. Summers spoke with him afterward.
“He said ‘I don’t agree with everything you said,’ ” Vargas recalled. Mr. Summers then commended him on the overall presentation and said he’d like to do whatever he could to help the district.
“He had an extraordinary commitment to helping the students of the Rochester City School District,” Vargas said. “You could see he really felt for the plight that the kids were going through. He really felt that their future was directly connected to getting a good education.”
Vargas, who was known to keep tighter reins on the school budget than his predecessors, said he often turned to Mr. Summers for advice on procurement and financial issues. Mr. Summers also conducted his own audit of the purchasing from the district’s Central Office, its administrative hub.
“He shared his expertise and also connected me to very talented and skillful people who understood organizational finance,” Vargas said.
The quiet generosity of “Dutch”
Before his years as mayor, Johnson headed the local Urban League chapter. Mr. Summers offered scholarships to many teens through his philanthropy and his company, Johnson said.
“That program really exceeded beyond anybody’s wildest dreams,” Johnson said. “It really succeeded because of Dutch’s generosity.” Many of those who were helped went on to successful careers, Johnson said.
Some “got graduate degrees that were paid for by Dutch,” Johnson said. “He didn’t just write the check. He got involved with these young people in their lives. We’re talking primarily black and brown kids.”
One young man did not want to use a scholarship for college but instead had visions for a business — one that Mr. Summers underwrote and partnered in, Johnson said.
“Despite his immense contributions, Dutch never sought recognition for his charitable endeavors — he gave freely of his time and resources, quietly supporting countless causes and organizations without any desire for acknowledgement or praise,” Ken Marvald, general counsel for Graywood Companies and another of Mr. Summers’ friends, said in a Chamber of Commerce news release.
Growing Jasco Tools
Mr. Summers’ father, John A. Summers, founded Jasco Tools in 1951. Mr. Summers took control when in his mid-20s.
“Dutch grew Jasco (in later days ‘Graywood Companies’) into a global equity firm with business ventures both domestically in 17 states, and in five countries, in the fields of manufacturing, metal finishing, industrial distribution, hospitality, retail, commercial and residential real estate development, and commercial and residential construction,” his family wrote in his death notice.
As his business grew, and Mr. Summers wanted to find ways to make an impact locally, he stepped more into the public policy arena. The Rump Group was the most visible of these efforts.
Created in the early 2000s, the Rump Group was a coalition of business and civic leaders that focused on an array of issues, including the struggles of the City School District, the holes in local social service and health care operations, and the taxation costs of a multitude of local governments and services. Mr. Summers was one of the leaders of the Rump Group, named after the Parliament of 17th century England.
The Rump Group’s reports and recommendations were often touted by local officials as a guiding light toward a better community but, to this day, there is disagreement over whether its efforts were truly heeded by powers-that-be or instead became dust-gathering policy treatises.
Patricia Malgieri said the Rump Group did set the stage for future collaborations. “What it did was it sparked a movement that continues today in that it got the leaders of the community together,” she said. “It was diverse. He insisted on having women and people of color at the table.”
The Rump Group eventually was absorbed into the Chamber of Commerce.
An emeritus trustee at the Rochester Institute of Technology, Mr. Summers also “provided support for The Construct@RIT — a lab space where students can design and build nearly anything they can imagine, independent of a department, with students involved in its management,” according to RIT.
“He generously supported RIT, with a special focus on scholarship funding for students,” RIT said in a news release.
Mr. Summers’ educational interests also evolved into support for charter schools, a move that placed him in the thick of the controversy between those who maintain the schools drain resources from traditional public schools and others who see them as a model that improves education for the young.
“In partnership with Constellation Brands Vice Chairman Richard Sands, Summers’ financial contributions madepossible the purchase by the Educational Success Foundation of the Hoover Road School (the former GreeceOdyssey Academy) to house Young Women’s College Prep and The Discovery School,” the Chamber of Commerce said in its news release. “The same partnership led to the purchase of the former Nazareth Academy on Lake Avenue, now the home of Exploration Elementary School for Science and Technology, The Academy of Health Sciences Charter School, and Encompass Resources for Learning. Today, some 1,500 children have a place to go to school because of Summers’ role in these partnerships.”
The many friends of Mr. Summers, even when they disagreed with him on public policy, say that the differences never created a wedge with the relationships.
“Even though he and I may have disagreed about some things, it never ever was going to be personal,” said former Mayor Johnson.
Mr. Summers wife, Jayne, died in 2011 after a long bout with Alzheimer’s. Mr. Summers later married Sandy Parker, former president of the Rochester Business Alliance. Sandy Parker died in 2021.
Mr. Summers is survived by his children Jeff Summers (Sherrie), Douglas Summers (Harold Willson), Todd Summers (Casey), Andrew Holland (Janet), Susan Conrado (Ron) Kenny Holland (Laura); grandchildren CoreySummers and Austin Summers; and sisters-in-law Susie Summers and Kathy Summers.
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