Jack was born May 13th, 1918, in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan but moved to Toronto soon afterwards with his parents, Ernest Henry Francis and Rozilla Marion (Fife) Francis, as well as his younger brother, Harold Bruce Francis.

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After graduating with his B. Com from the University of Toronto, in 1942 and pursuing post-graduate work until 1944, Jack moved to Ottawa to work as an economist with the Federal Public Service. He had a long career, first as Director of the Research Branch of the Department of Labour in 1961, then as Senior Assistant Deputy Minister (Planning) for the Department of Regional Economic Expansion (DREE) while working alongside visionaries like Tom Kent, Lester B. Pearson and Pierre Elliot Trudeau. 

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Jack took early retirement at 59 and spent his happiest years as Archivist of the Anglican Diocesan Archives at Christ Church Cathedral, Ottawa, while also pursuing his own research project.

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His life work is a two-volume set entitled, A Biographical Dictionary of the Anglican Clergy in the Diocese of Ottawa Born Before 1900. His children remember him working late nights in the ponderosa pine panelled basement study, that he built himself, after long days at the office, tapping ferociously on his clunky IBM typewriter. Jack continued working at the Archives well into his 90's. The family joked that he would live to 150, so he could write other biographical dictionaries.

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Jack had many loves: Canadian and English history, the Times Literary Supplement, smoked meat sandwiches, whipped cream and his family, not necessarily in that order. He was fiercely self-reliant, intellectually agile, dedicated, honourable, generous and thoughtful.

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He is deeply and profoundly missed.

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Jack leaves behind his wife of 64 years, Patricia Anne (Townley) Francis; as well as his three beloved daughters, Margot Susan Francis, Ailsa Jeremy Francis and (Anne) Michele Townley Francis; and two grandchildren, Aidan Francis DeToro and Madeline Michele DeToro.