There are a select few people synonymous with Boston.

Politicians, writers, actors, and sports heroes instantly come to mind.

You’d have to add Jack Connors to that esteemed index. He was a man everyone in town seemed to know. He was a master businessman, co-founding the advertising firm Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopulos, but the real Jack Connors was more than that — he was unique.

“If all the people he helped came together, you’d need Fenway Park to hold them,” said Joe Nolan, a friend for decades. “If a guy needed a car, Jack would show up with one. He did one good deed after another.”

Jack Connors was the guardian angel of Camp Harbor View after the late Mayor Tom Menino turned to him for help. Inner-city kids became seaside campers on Long Island with the help of selfless Bostonians like Jack Connors. That was a constant refrain in the life of this gracious philanthropist from Roslindale.

Jack Connors, 82, died early today at his Brookline home from cancer.

“He was such a good man,” said former Mayor Marty Walsh, who said he became “dear friends” with Jack. Walsh, the former U.S. Labor Secretary who is now running the NHL Players’ Association, said he was crushed to hear his friend was terminally ill.

“You can’t capture in words what he’s done for people,” Walsh said of Connors. “He helped everybody!”

Walsh said he saw Connors interact with schoolchildren at Camp Harbor View and then would learn how this relentless crusader — and Boston College grad — helped the teen, the camper’s parents, grandparents. His generosity knew no bounds.

Jack Connors was an unsung hero of Boston. He never called seeking a photo of the latest wish he’d grant or the hospital bed he’d find for someone in need.

“He was an amazing human being,” Walsh added.

Jack Connors was plugged in — from Washington, D.C. to boardrooms. He gave his wisdom to The Campaign for Catholic Schools, The Edward M. Kennedy Institute, Partners HealthCare System, now Mass General Brigham, the Home Base Program for wounded warriors at the MGH, the Board of Fellows at Harvard Medical School, and the Board of Dean’s Advisors for the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. That’s his bio. But he was bigger.

“Massachusetts lost a champion today and I have lost a friend,” said Gov. Maura Healey. “Jack spent his life trying to make Massachusetts and this country a fairer, more inclusive place — and he succeeded.”

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu also praised his “philanthropic footprint” — especially Camp Harbor View — but also the “countless people from all walks of life he quietly helped.

“His core blend of generosity, kindness and humility was magic,” Wu added. “Boston is undoubtedly changed forever because of his vision and commitment.”

This city mattered to Jack Connors.

“He had the heart of Boston,” former Mayor Ray Flynn, who served as Ambassador to the Vatican, said. “If people were down on their luck, he’d be there.”

As Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote: “A great man is always willing to be little.”

That was Jack Connors. The phone has not stopped ringing with memories of a man his friends can’t fathom has left so suddenly.

“He was a spectacular man who had an enormous commitment to the city,” said Anne Finucane, who once worked at Hill Holiday and recently retired as vice chair at Bank of America. “I don’t think he ever forgot where he came from.”

He was ahead of his time, Finucane added, saying he opened a day care at Hill Holiday and made it “unforgettable.” That was Jack Connors she said, he gave the women in his office the “confidence” to do their best knowing their kids were cared for.

“Jack was a man of great faith—he loved people, he loved his family and he loved his hometown of Boston,” said Maureen Bleday, CEO and Trustee of the Yawkey Foundation. “He appreciated the special role he could play in bringing people together for good. He was bigger than life.”

George Regan launched his PR firm with a $25,000 loan from Jack Connors. “We’d meet every Monday in the Copley Hotel that first year. If it wasn’t for Jack, I never would have made it,” said Regan.

Jack Connors stood as tall as the Hancock Tower where he once worked. But that’s not what people will remember. They’ll remember his smile and how he had time for matters of the heart.

“Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them,” Shakespeare wrote in “Twelfth Night.” Jack Connors was all three.

Connors is survived by his wife, Eileen, a daughter, Susanne Joyce of Westwood; three sons, John III and Tim, both of Westwood, and Kevin of Dedham; his sister, Margaret Hanks of Dedham; and 13 grandchildren.

Funeral arrangements are incomplete.

Beth Ross president of Emmanuel College and Jack Connors at Emmanuel College commencement. (Photo By Matt Stone/Boston Herald)
Jack Connors at Emmanuel College commencement. (Photo By Matt Stone/Boston Herald)
Jack Connors at Emmanuel College commencement. (Photo By Matt Stone/Boston Herald)