Pressing on With Gratitude

It’s hard to catch Jack Kemp off guard.

In his early 20s, he commanded the U.S. Army’s first airborne-trained and mountain-trained ski unit in Alaska, protecting largely unmapped wilderness from Soviet incursion during the Cold War. On Sept. 11, 2001, he was working for Morgan Stanley on the 70^th floor of 2 World Trade Center when the second plane hit his building. He and many of his colleagues survived but have spent the last 25 years fending off health complications related to the attacks.

Jack has always been ready for just about anything, but he didn’t feel ready to encounter a near-total blockage in his left anterior descending artery (LAD), which carries nearly half of a person’s total blood supply to the heart muscle.

Stepping up

A native of New Jersey, Jack built an illustrious career at Morgan Stanley, where he became President and Chief Executive Officer of Asset Management Distributors before retiring to Vero Beach, Florida. A lifelong athlete and outdoorsman, he quickly found a like-minded community in John’s Island.

“Shortly after I arrived, someone told me that there were at least 150 charities in Vero Beach and it was important to choose carefully,” he remembers.

A month later, he joined John’s Island Leadership Committee. Through that role, he became active in supporting Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital and in 2012, he joined the Cleveland Clinic Indian River Foundation Board of Directors.

Jack's interest in healthcare has always been deeply personal. His own father died of a stroke at 56, which fueled his passion for bringing leading-edge technology and specialists for stroke care into his community. He hoped that if he stayed in good physical condition, he could avoid a similar fate.

For most of his life, that plan worked. He played football and water polo at the University of Colorado Boulder, became a national handball doubles champion while serving in the Army and stayed active in the years that followed through golf and other outdoor pursuits. Other than back injuries related to football and parachuting, he never experienced any significant medical conditions.

Then 9/11 happened. When the second plane hit Tower 2, Jack was thrown across his office into a bookshelf. He and his team of six carried a severely injured coworker down nearly 70 flights of stairs to safety, singing “99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall” to ward off fear and panic as the building smoldered. He made it safely to the street, but like many people who breathed in toxic dust as the towers collapsed, he has faced significant health conditions since that day. He has had one-third of his lung removed, undergone treatment for multiple melanomas and faced several other types of cancer. Today, he relies on his doctors at Cleveland Clinic to help detect and treat these conditions as they arise.

Then, in November 2025, Jack went to bed with what felt like a bad case of indigestion. After his condition worsened, he called 911. “There was never a doubt in my mind where I needed to receive treatment,” he remembers. “I had several friends who had undergone major heart surgeries at Cleveland Clinic and made it back to the golf course.”

Doctors discovered the severe LAD blockage, which placed him at risk for a life-threatening heart attack. Under the care of James Wudel, MD, holder of the Dr. Cary L. Stowe Endowed Chair for Cardiovascular Surgery, Jack underwent coronary artery bypass surgery to restore blood flow.

“It didn’t sink in until later that they actually have to stop your heart during a bypass,” Jack says. “But I felt safe in the hands of Dr. Wudel, who is a highly regarded bypass doctor in Florida. Very soon after surgery, I spent an hour walking the halls.” Within three days, he remembers he was “feeling like a million bucks.” He completed four months of cardiac physical therapy and continued a similar regimen on his own at the health club. At 84, he says he feels 20 years younger.

Taking inventory

Now, as Jack retires from the Board of Directors after 13 years of service, he reflects on the impact of Indian River Hospital from the vantage point of a patient, donor and longtime leader.

“Cleveland Clinic came to town, and suddenly the quality of doctors went up,” he says. “My internist will tell you Cleveland Clinic is the best thing that ever happened here.”

Since Indian River Hospital joined Cleveland Clinic seven years ago, Jack has helped recruit and support 162 new physicians. He has also championed the expansion of skin cancer care at Scully-Welsh Cancer Center and supported a wide range of philanthropic initiatives that advanced facilities, technology and emergency care services.

“It has been a privilege to be part of an effort to help the hospital reach its full potential,” Jack says. “The mission that began before Cleveland Clinic arrived is now moving forward at three times the speed. It will make a difference for our community for generations to come. It has certainly made a difference for me.”