Jack Lindquist, Chapman trustee and former Disneyland president, dies at 88

Jack Lindquist speaks at one of Professor Brian Alters’ classes. Photo courtesy of Brian Alters

Who was Mickey Mouse’s best friend?

Some might say Donald Duck, but according to Brian Alters, who teaches “The Pursuit of Happiness and Knowledge: Walt Disney and Charles Darwin” at Chapman, it was the late Jack Lindquist, Disneyland Resort’s former president and Chapman Board of Trustees member.

“Jack and Mickey were the dynamic duo,” Alters said.

Lindquist, 88, died at his family home in Anaheim on Feb. 28 from natural causes.

Alters’ class on March 1 was dedicated to Lindquist, with a picture of him wearing Mickey Mouse ears on the projector as “Tale As Old As Time” played softly in the background.

Alters painted a picture of a jovial, comedic child-actor-turned-marketing-executive, who had a kinetic relationship with Walt Disney and a penchant for making people happy.

“He always seemed happy,” Alters said. “Most people you talk to, they tell you a little bit of good stuff, a little bit of bad stuff. With him, it was always so positive.”

The Isabelle & Jack Lindquist Esplanade sits in front of the Guggenheim Gallery. Photo by Megan Abba

Alters was not the only person affected by Lindquist’s enthusiastic attitude.

“I remember that he was very passionate about what he did. I remember that he talked a lot about enjoying what you do,” said Taylor Aronow, a junior integrated educational studies major, who listened to Lindquist speak in Alters’ class.

Among his many accomplishments during his 38 years with The Walt Disney Company, Lindquist was responsible for conceptualizing Disney’s Epcot theme park, as well as coining the word “Fantasmic” with Disney’s former CEO Michael Eisner, Alters said.

“Jack Lindquist was a Disney original in every sense. He started his career as Disneyland’s first advertising manager, and later served as the park’s first president, a role he always referred to as ‘the best job in the world,’” Bob Iger, chairman and CEO of The Walt Disney Company, wrote in a statement regarding Lindquist’s death.

A signed poster from when Jack Lindquist retired from Disneyland hangs in the Jack & Belle Lindquist Dream Room, room 314, in the Leatherby Libraries. Photo by Caroline McNally

“Those of us who had the good fortune to know Jack will always remember the kindness, humility and dedication that made him such an important part of this company and a true Disney Legend,” Iger wrote.

Following his retirement on Mickey Mouse’s 65th birthday after 13,870 days working at Disney, Lindquist began a different life.

After striking up a friendship with his neighbor, President Jim Doti, Lindquist became a benefactor and trustee at Chapman and was frequently involved with on-campus events, including the dedication of the Jack and Belle Lindquist Disney Collection in the Leatherby Libraries in April 2013.

However, Lindquist still fondly reminisced his favorite part of his job – the happiness brought to everyone who entered the park, Alters said.

“We are not a cure for cancer, we are not going to save the world, but if we can make people that happy for a few hours or for a day, then we are doing something worthwhile,” Lindquist wrote in his 2010 memoir, “In Service to The Mouse.”

Valerie Reid, a senior business major who took Alters’ class, remembers how passionate Lindquist was about his job, even in retirement.

“He was telling these stories, and every time he would talk about Disney, his face would light up,” Reid said. “You could tell he loved what he did.”

Lindquist is immortalized in the park in the form of a cartoon pumpkin and a window on Main Street naming him honorary mayor of the park and proclaiming him a “Jack of all trades, Master of fun.”

His speeches at Chapman were a passion of his, because he felt students were the most important people he could share his experience with, Alters said.

“Nobody’s a legend at 21,” Lindquist said in a video of one of his most recent speeches in Alters’ class, “but what you do today is what legends are made of tomorrow.”

A memorial will be held for Lindquist March 15 at 10 a.m. in the Wallace All Faiths Chapel. A reception and viewing of the Jack and Belle Lindquist Disney Collection will follow on the third floor of the Leatherby Libraries.