When patients, staff and visitors walked the hallways of Allegheny Valley Hospital in the 1980s and 1990s, they often encountered Jack England, the hospital’s gregarious administrator.

The tall man in the suit and glasses, known to everyone as Mr. England, regularly left his office in the administration building to appear at the nurses’ stations and other clinical areas.

He seemed to be everywhere.

“Everyone knew him. He knew all the employees by name and had a great relationship with them,” said England’s son, 58-year-old Andy England of Columbia, Maryland.

John R. “Jack” England, 88, of Bishop, California, and formerly of Lower Burrell, died July 12, 2024, after a car accident, his son said.

England joined Allegheny Valley Hospital in 1978 after gaining experience managing hospitals for the Air Force and in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. He served as Allegheny Valley’s president and CEO for 20 years before retiring in July 1998.

England was instrumental in establishing medical services in the Alle-Kiski Valley, including the region’s only inpatient psychiatric unit, a cardiac catheterization unit, and other medical and surgical treatments. Under his leadership, the hospital installed its first MRI and a linear accelerator for radiation treatment of cancer patients.

“He took great pride in his work at AVH and making sure they provided quality health care to everyone who walked through the door,” said England’s eldest son, Bill England of Elkins Park in Montgomery County.

England was especially proud of the hospital’s expansions, which included a large parking garage at the corner of Carlisle Street and Pleasantville Road, Bill England said. He fondly recalled how his father got him a summer job on the garage construction site and how the elder England never tired of talking about the hospital and giving people tours of the renovated areas.

“It was important to him to expand the offering and provide more space,” he said.

Lorraine Azzarone, who retired in 2015 after 41 years as a nursing director at AVH, said England spent a lot of time getting to know the community and learned the importance of being accessible to staff.

“Over the years I found him to be very approachable,” said Azzarone. “You could always make an appointment with him.”

In 1997, England and other top hospital executives forged a merger with Allegheny General Hospital’s then-parent company, the Allegheny Health Education and Research Foundation. They sought the merger not because the hospital was financially unstable, but because they feared cuts from government payers and inadequate payments from private insurers that would ultimately bankrupt the hospital.

AVH management later determined that AHERF was in financial crisis, forcing the company into bankruptcy in 1998. The foundation’s hospitals in Western Pennsylvania, including Allegheny Valley, were rescued by the West Penn Allegheny Health System, which later became today’s Allegheny Health Network.

In an interview with the Trib in 1998, shortly before his retirement, England said the merger with AHERF haunted him. He said the deal was an attempt to weather a storm of cuts that came faster and more severely than expected. Projections had predicted significant losses for the hospital, and it would not have been able to operate independently, he said in the interview.

“I worked hard to understand people’s needs and develop programs that meet those needs,” he said at the time. “The last major effort was the question of financial survival. I was involved in the decision to merge with AHERF, and at the time I thought it was a good decision. It turns out life was much more complicated than I expected.”

After his wife of 46 years, Carol, died of cancer in 2008, England moved to Bishop, California. He served as a community leader, volunteered at the local hospital and was involved in the Rotary Club, his sons said.

“Volunteering and community were core values ​​of my father,” said Bill England. “He always believed in volunteerism and helping the community.”

England is survived by Susie Goss of Bishop, California; his four sons, William L. (Lorie Slass) England of Elkins Park, John W. England of Freeport, Andrew J. England of Columbia, Maryland, and Thomas H. England of Springdale; one granddaughter, Sarah E. England of New York City; and Susie’s son, Larry Goss (Kathy) of Minden, Nevada.

A service will be held at 11 a.m. Monday in the chapel of St. Margaret Mary Church in St. Mary Cemetery, Lower Burrell. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations to a local charity or to the Officer Brian Shaw Memorial Fund, PO Box 2052, Lower Burrell, PA 15068.