John McCracken, longtime realtor, dies

KANKAKEE — It was a phrase he came up with as he started his own Kankakee-based real estate sales firm, McCracken Realty.

“Start Packin', Call McCracken.”

For so many, the catchy, four-word slogan still rolls off of the lips, even though the firm, which was based for many years at the northeast corner of North Harrison Avenue and East Court Street has been gone for nearly 25 years — office building and all.

All those remembering John McCracken, the lifelong Kankakeean, businessman, river enthusiast and neighbor, said Kankakee ran to the very core of his body. McCracken was Kankakee through and through.

“He was as honest as they come,” said David Jaffe, perhaps McCracken’s closest friend of some 40 years. “He was so committed to Kankakee.”

McCracken died Jan. 4 at Riverside Medical Center. He was 95.

The owner-operator of McCracken Realty from 1963 to 2001, he often worked seven days a week. Family life was often interrupted by phone calls wanting to look at a property.

The former director and president of the Kankakee County Board of Realtors, McCracken was once honored as the groups' Realtor of the Year and well as its Broker of the Year.

He retired in 2001, and McCracken’s company merged with Rosenboom Real Estate.

He not only sold properties, mainly houses, but he also operated a building business and constructed more than 50 houses in the area.

Interestingly enough, however, Jaffe noted, real estate was not his first choice. He had a tire company.

“It went flat after a year,” Jaffe offered with a smile.

He also worked at Harris Bank in Chicago at the start of his career. He was a purchasing agent with Gould National Battery in Kankakee.

But it was real estate — mostly anyway — where he made his mark within Kankakee County beginning in 1960. He started the McCracken firm three years later.

While real estate sales and his own developments provided for his family, that was only a portion of his life.

McCracken and his wife, Nila, were involved in numerous social and business organizations, one of his absolute passions was the Kankakee River, which ran just beyond his backyard along South Chicago Avenue in the historic Riverview neighborhood.

This was his home for 73 years, and it was where he and friends would gather to boat and ski on the flowing Kankakee River.

MCCRACKEN: WATER SKIER

McCracken is credited with constructing the first water ski jump on the river. He was such a gifted skier, he provided lessons for those who wanted to take up the hobby — maybe more accurately, his passion — with allowed so many to enjoy this natural resource.

“He was absolutely a one of the stalwarts of this community,” said close friend Ed Lambert, the longtime Kankakee Eastridge teacher and swimming coach.

They were close friends for nearly 40 years.

“We had a lot of dinners together,” Lambert said.

He noted, as others did, that McCracken had a love of song. He often would just start singing a song from the 1920s or ’30s or whenever as the mood struck.

“He was full of energy, full of life,” Lambert said. “He was a sweet, kind, gentle man.”

JoAnne Schwade, along with her husband, Jim, were next-door neighbors with the McCracken’s for 43 years. Everyone knew of McCracken’s gift of gab. Schwade said if she had an errand to run, there needed to be some time built in to have a conversation with McCracken as she headed for her car.

“He could talk to anyone. He had some much history. He was such fun,” she said. “He was a wonderful neighbor. So kind and he was always in a good mood.”

Dennis Hess, another longtime friend, guessed McCracken was the Kankakee River’s best known skier for years.

“He was just a fun guy. ... Kankakee meant everything to him,” he said. “He was very much in love with Kankakee.”

Jaffe summed up his dear friend.

“John was a great friend to me and to many others,” he said. “A great businessman, a strong community supporter and an absolute gentleman.”

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