BRAINTREE -- Jack Connors, the legendary Boston business mogul and philanthropist who died on July 23 at age 82, enjoyed going for walks with his wife, Eileen.

Sometimes, their walks would take them to Forest Hills Cemetery in Jamaica Plain, where Connors was intrigued by a gravestone that read: "He went about doing good." The words on the stone, a description of Christ from the Acts of the Apostles, inspired him.

Days before his death from cancer, Connors maintained close ties with Jesuit Father William P. Leahy, president of Boston College, where Connors graduated in 1963 and served on the board of trustees from 1979 to 2018. Connors told Father Leahy that he wanted to be remembered as "someone who went about doing good."

That was precisely how Connors was remembered at his funeral Mass, held at St. Ignatius of Loyola Parish in Chestnut Hill on July 30. Father Leahy celebrated the Mass, which was attended by hundreds.

"He liked people, and people liked him," Father Leahy said in his homily. "He related easily to others and strived to find common ground and interests, and foster connections. He was a bridge builder, often a mediator, and always a force for good."

Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley presided over the Mass. In 2007, Connors founded the Campaign for Catholic Schools, and he and the cardinal worked together to raise $130 million for struggling inner-city Catholic schools. The funds transformed 10 schools in Brockton and Dorchester into the modern Trinity and Pope St. John Paul II campuses.

In his remarks, the cardinal called Connors an "antidote" for selfishness in the world.

"The only funeral that I've been to bigger than this was that of Pope Benedict (XVI)," he said. "I'm sure that Jack is very pleased, but he certainly deserved it."

Cardinal O'Malley also noted that the funeral Mass took place 21 years to the day after his installation as archbishop of Boston. That was the day he and Connors first met. When the archdiocese was reeling from the sexual abuse crisis and its financial fallout, Connors "stepped up to assure us of his friendship, his support."

"He was a great man, and I hope that... his life will inspire more people to that kind of greatness," the cardinal said. "Jack was not a celebrity. He was a hero. He was a man of deeds. He was a man for whom the community and the needs of others was his priority."

In his homily, Father Leahy offered his prayers to Connors's relatives, particularly his widow Eileen, their children, and their grandchildren.

"Each of you was so present and such a comfort to your husband, father, father-in-law, grandfather, and brother in his final weeks of life," he said. "He treasured you and gave thanks for the joy and blessings you brought him. You touched his heart, and he loved you."

He told them to take solace in the fact that many others joined them to mourn and fondly remember Connors.

"He contributed in many profound ways to our lives and our world," Father Leahy said. "This funeral Mass is also an occasion for us to remember Jack and consider his special gifts and properties."

Connors's son, John Connors III, offered a reflection before the final commendation. He said that he wanted the funeral Mass to be a joyful celebration of the life his father lived.

"Dad loved his life," he said. "He loved being Jack. We might have to retire that name. Dad had a massive heart. Dad could hold more people and institutions in his heart than most of us, and he loved helping people."

He thanked family, friends, acquaintances, and the media for the outpouring of tributes in the week since his father's death.

"It's powerful how many lives Dad touched," he said. He had a way of making everyone feel special. Everyone in this church has a Jack story. Everyone in this church could write their own Jack eulogy. To Dad, everyone was family."

Father Leahy described Jack Connors's Roslindale upbringing as being shaped by his devout Catholic upbringing and "the vibrant Irish culture of Boston." Job opportunities elsewhere beckoned, but Jack Connors didn't want to leave his home.

"Faith, family, and friends were key for him," Father Leahy said, "and he never forgot his roots. He was blessed with a warm, engaging personality and a positive outlook on life."

As a young boy, Jack Connors was kicked out of Boston Latin after a semester, but, John Connors remembered, he was "saved" by St. Aidan School in Brookline. There, Sister Anna Veronica called him "the boy with the perpetual smile." Even back then, Jack Connor's dogged perseverance and optimism were evident.

"It was the beginning of his love for Catholic schools," John Connors said. "They rescued him, and he knew it."

At Dedham High School, Jack Connors's worldview was informed by seeing the stark social divides between the wealthy students from Precinct 1 and the students from working-class Irish and Italian backgrounds. In senior year, he met Eileen. Their first date was at a drive-in movie, and she immediately noticed how "talkative" he was. The two were married as soon as Eileen graduated from Boston College in 1966, and they stayed that way for 58 years.

"Mom always selflessly shared Dad with the city," John Connors said, "but it was always the two of them against the world."

As a student at Boston College, Jack tried to quit twice, but his mother encouraged him to stay. He would later go on to become class president. In his junior year, his mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer and was fired from her secretarial job at the United Fruit Company because of it.

"This was the moment he learned about helping people, helping people when they're down," said John Connors. "It was his master's degree in helping people, helping all people."

After graduating, Connors's success in the advertising industry catapulted him to the top of Boston's financial and social elite. His reputation for business savvy was combined with a reputation for generosity, which was always centered around his Catholic faith. His job initially required him to travel extensively overseas, but he stopped going on business trips when he met a Jesuit who encouraged him to spend more time with his family.

"He believed strongly that to those to whom much has been given, much is expected," Father Leahy said, "and, like St. Ignatius, maintained that love is more expressed in deeds than in words."

It was often said that Connors "gave away money before he had it," but in his retirement years, he used his skills in business and politics to support his philanthropy.

"If you were doing well, he had an ask, for a cause or someone who needed help," John Connors said, "and if you were in need, he was there to help."

He served as an eucharistic minister at Brigham and Women's Hospital and prayed with patients, without ever telling them that he was chairman of the board there. He once told his son that he would rather hug a child at Camp Longview, the free summer camp he co-founded for inner-city youth in Boston, than see his name on a building.

"Dad didn't have a model, he didn't have a way, he didn't have a playbook," John Connors said. "He just had this indomitable spirit. Kindness and thoughtfulness were at his core. He was on a mission to be nice to everybody."

John Connors said his father "never retired," not even in the month between his cancer diagnosis and his death. Two weeks before Jack Connors died, he asked a nurse for a pen and paper so he could take notes for his own eulogy. When workers brought oxygen to his hospital room, he thanked them with maple syrup from Vermont -- a classic Jack Connors gift.

"Just like he imparted wisdom on a walk or in a boardroom, he also imparted wisdom from the hospital bed," John Connors said. "Dad was so full of faith and love, and never any anger and never any sadness. He never felt bad for himself . . . And stayed more focused on everyone else to the end."

According to John Connors, his father didn't often look back on his life, because he was always looking forward to his next goal. However, when talking to his wife and children, he would wonder aloud: "How did I get so lucky?"

"Dad was thankful for the life he lived and thankful for his faith," John Connors said. "We're thankful for all he taught us, and for all the love he gave us."

Father Leahy said that, in his final weeks, Jack "responded to his diagnosis with faith, acceptance, and trust."

"I have had a great life for 82 years," he told Father Leahy. "A wonderful wife, four children, and 13 grandchildren."

"He was at peace and not afraid when he faced death," Father Leahy said. "Very impressive and consoling to witness. In life, and in death, Jack was a teacher, resource, and inspiration."

John Connors said that there would never be another Jack Connors, but there will be people like him. With his death, "the torch has passed" to those who came to mourn him.

"There is still more work to be done to make sure we help create more Jack Connors," he said. "Maybe it's a kid at one of the Catholic schools today, maybe it's a kid at Camp Harbor View, or maybe it's one of his grandchildren . . . Dad would get that twinkle in his eye, that smile we all know so well, when he had an idea. Dad would make one last pitch. He would simply ask that we would continue to help people."