Former In Business magazine Publisher Jody Glynn Patrick passed away Tuesday in Jacksonville, Florida. Glynn Patrick, who served as publisher from 1997 until her retirement in 2013, was 71.
Her death was announced on Tuesday by her husband, Kevin Patrick, in an email to friends and former colleagues. It came several months after she informed them about a cancer diagnosis.
“It is with much sadness that I must relay to you that Jody passed this morning peacefully in her sleep,” Kevin stated. “It is with great joy that I tell you that she was not in any pain. Fortunately, her daughters, Summer and Brook, had flown in last night and were able to say their last hellos and goodbyes.”
Glynn Patrick had survived breast cancer, first diagnosed in the summer of 2000, and went on to establish editorial features such as the Forty Under 40 and the Book of Lists. Prior to joining In Business, she worked at Community Newspapers in Milwaukee, where she wrote an award-winning column titled “Closer to Home.”
IB Editorial Director Joe Vanden Plas noted that Glynn Patrick was a trusted mentor to several members of the current IB staff. “She certainly was instrumental in my career and a fierce friend whenever I needed frank advice,” Vanden Plas said. “She also loved Madison and greatly admired its business community. To say she will be missed doesn’t begin to describe her impact.”
Bill Haight, president of Magna Publications and the former owner of In Business magazine, brought Glynn Patrick to Madison and talked about how she elevated the quality of the magazine. “Jody was a very special person — smart, creative, and compassionate,” he said. “She remade In Business and took it to a new level. Rest in peace, Jody.”
Former Publisher Jon Konarske, who succeeded Glynn Patrick in that post and served as sales manager before that, recalled her delightfully off-beat nature, especially the festive way she decorated her office. “Jody was truly one-of-a-kind,” he stated. “She was certainly one of the more eccentric individuals I’ve met over the years, but that was Jody — and something you grew to love about her.
“I’ll never forget the Monday morning I walked past her office and had to do a double take with what I thought I had seen,” he added. “I took a couple of steps back, and sure enough she had stapled a bunch of Christmas wrapping paper to every inch of her office wall. On top of that, it was decorated from floor to ceiling with other Christmas items. It was like a scene from the North Pole! I asked her what prompted this, and how long did it take? Her response was that she just felt festive, and that it took her most of the weekend. I’m pretty sure there were still staples in that office wall a decade later.”
Respecting her wishes, there will be no memorial service, according to Kevin Patrick. Instead, he plans to see friends and family in Madison and perhaps do a celebration of her life here as well as one in Jacksonville, where she lived in retirement.
