Survived by his wife Jane Power, daughter Judith Beatty (Marshall), son Tshaka Lafayette, five granddaughters, and five great-grandchildren.

Born on August 11, 1923, in Detroit, Michigan, and prepared by an excellent education in that city's public schools, Jack O'Dell studied pharmacy at Xavier University in New Orleans before joining the U.S. Merchant Marine during World War II. In doing so, he was already taking up his life work: defending and expanding democracy in the United States and around the world. After the war, he became active in peace and civil rights organizations, notably working with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., (1960-63) and the Rev. Jesse Jackson (1973-93).

Jack was also an associate editor of Freedomways, a journal of the freedom movement in the U.S. and overseas (1963-86); Chair of the Pacifica Radio Network (1977-97); and an anti-war organizer, notably as co-chair of a Million-Person Anti-Nuclear Protest held in New York City in June 1982. In 1993, Jack officially retired and moved to Vancouver. He remained active in informal advisory roles until his death at the age of 96, giving particular attention to developing organizing and analytical skills among young social justice advocates.