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Remembering Jay Killackey

NAPS is saddened to report the death of former NAPS Executive Vice President James “Jay” Killackey III on March 21. He had a long and storied career in the Postal Service, as well as serving as a NAPS resident officer and in other leadership positions.

Jay began his Postal Service career as a part-time flexible clerk in 1996. From 1969 through 1971, he served in the U.S. Navy. When he returned to the Postal Service, he converted to a letter carrier to earn a college degree. He graduated with degrees in public and business administrations. He was the first member of his family to earn a college degree.

In 1979, Jay was promoted to supervisor, Customer Service, at the Boston GMF parcel delivery unit. He became a general supervisor, assistant tour superintendent, tour superintendent and station manager. Jay rose to the position of manager, Distribution Operations, EAS-24, at the Boston Processing & Distribution Center.

From 1995 to 2006, he managed operations at the IMC North in Chelsea, the largest motorized postal delivery unit in the country. He retired from that position on Oct. 6, 2006, when he was elected NAPS secretary/treasurer.

Jay joined NAPS in 1979 and was an active member of Boston Branch 43. He was elected vice president, then president, serving in that office 1990-1998. He was elected to the NAPS Executive Board in 1998 as New England Area vice president and served through 2006. He was elected NAPS secretary/treasurer in 2006 and served in that position until 2010, when he was elected NAPS executive vice president—a position he held until 2014.

Jay currently was serving as Branch 43 executive vice president and was a tireless advocate for the NAPS Disciplinary Defense Fund. The branch was renamed this year the James F. Killackey/John Russell Boston Branch 43 in honor of those two long-time members.

While serving as a NAPS national officer, Jay:

• was a member of the first NAPS SWCs Committee.
• started the Telecon Improvement Program so EAS employees being abused during telecons had an avenue to report the abuse.
• initiated the Redundant Report Program to eliminate supervisors, managers and postmasters having to respond to the many reports containing the same information.
• established the Scanning Committee. When scanning became prevalent, Jay partnered with then-USPS Vice President of Delivery Ed Phelan to enable the committee to report scanning issues to the Postal Service to make them aware of the technical issues in the field so they could be corrected.
• established the NAPS Executive Board Legislative Committee and had a representative from each NAPS region as a member.
• established the SPAC Hall of Fame to acknowledge continuous, large-amount SPAC contributors.
• took the lead in 2009 when PFP ratings were intentionally reduced by requesting copies of all the filed recourses that had been denied. He took those copies to the Postal Service and got them approved.

Members had their ratings corrected, earning them pay raises.

This past August, friends and family gathered at the JFK Ranch to celebrate Jay’s 75th birthday. John Russell, his longtime friend and fellow Branch 43 honoree said, “Jay was a great mentor to many NAPS members. His death leaves a large hole in our organization that will take years to fill.” Jay is survived by his wife Suann and daughters Jessalyn, Kathleen (Seaver), Kristin (Wilson) and Courtney (Bochantin), as well as nine grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.

Condolences may be sent to his wife Suann Killackey at 20 Quaker Lane, Acushnet, MA 02743-1001.