Jack Morey, second-generation owner of Morey’s Piers, dies at 63

WILDWOOD — Jack Morey, 63, the forever kid, dreamer, and creative force behind the family’s beloved Morey’s Piers amusement parks in Wildwood, has died, the Morey family said in a statement.

Mr. Morey and his brother, Will, inherited the iconic amusement parks from their parents and were co-owners.

“Jack wasn’t particularly fond of titles, but was the Company’s Executive Vice President, Chief Creative Officer, and, most importantly, champion of ‘it will be beautiful … we change everything,’” the statement said, citing his familiar words of encouragement.

Mr. Morey died July 19. The cause of death was myelodysplastic syndrome, a rare blood cancer, said Kyle Morey, the third-generation director of marketing for Morey’s Piers and a family spokesperson.

“Jack’s life is a testament to his passion, creativity, and unwavering love of the beauty of people, experiences, and life … which he often insisted on viewing upside down via an impromptu handstand,” said the statement, sent out by Kyle Morey, Mr. Morey’s nephew.

“Although known for his eccentric and gregarious persona, Jack would often dive deeply and quickly into conversations,” Morey wrote. “Not one to recognize conventional boundaries, a favorite Jack question upon meeting someone was, ‘What do you love?’”

And he was genuinely curious about the answer, his family said.

» READ MORE: That ghost ship atop the pier at Morey's Piers has a story behind it.

Mr. Morey never lost his sense of adventure and love for dreaming up new rides or attractions, like the Ghost ship he recruited his karaoke-running writer friend Terry O’Brien to create with him in 2010, complete with a novella-sized origin story.

Back then, he eagerly led a reporter and photographer on a tour of the new ride, showing off the exploding toilet and personally taking a cleaver and chopping the head off a squirting rubber chicken.

He was happy to “get you with the blast of random air, splatter you with puke from the animatronic skeleton, and lead you through the claustrophobic room that closes in on all who enter,” The Inquirer wrote in 2010.

Mr, Morey was “long fascinated with people, design, and public spaces from all around the world, and spent his life and career working to bring his incredible and innate creativity to life,” the statement said.

He left his mark on Wildwood far beyond the amusement piers. Projects Mr. Morey was involved with and that the family said “bear Jack’s unique vision,” include the Rio Grande Avenue Gateway, the iconic “Wildwoods” sign, the Wildwood Dog Park and Beach, the Socratic Outdoor Learning Center, the Doo-Wop style architecture, Starlux Mini Golf, and his latest project, the Big Little 9 Golf Course.

“Jack adored the Wildwoods, often describing it as “not a place for everybody but it is a place for anybody,” the family said.

» READ MORE: A day at Morey's Piers

“We’d never want to admit to being sophisticated,” Mr. Morey told The Inquirer in 2010, while touring the new Ghost Ship ride. “We just take tacky to a new level. These attractions are really hard to do, labor-intensive. We’ll see how we do from a business perspective. For Wildwood, for us, for our brand of culture, this is real.”

“He sees things differently,” said Wildwood Crest Mayor Don Cabrera, one of many to post tributes on Facebook. “He helped me rethink municipal projects, such as the Centennial Park design, Little League fields, and Sunrise Park. He was relentless but in a good way.”

There was a time when the Moreys aspired to be Disney, but noted architect Steven Izenour — who famously embraced the zeitgeist of Las Vegas — got hold of Mr. Morey’s brain.

“He said, ‘Do the opposite of theme parks,’” Mr. Morey said in 2010. “Morey’s is a public space. It’s ad hoc, impulsive. It’s the juxtaposition of the rides, the ordinary carnival rides, the roller coaster over my head. We always protect the views of the ocean.

“There’s no entry fee, there’s no gate, no parking lot. There’s an ocean, a beach, a boardwalk, people walking in and out. It’s more, well, urban.”

Mr. Morey was born in Wildwood but grew up in Fort Lauderdale, according to the Cape May County Herald. The family came north in the summer to run their amusement parks. He graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in construction management. Family-owned, Morey’s Piers is its own empire of amusements, offering up 100 rides, two water parks, hotels and restaurants, and employing more than 1,500 seasonal workers.

Mr. Morey is survived by his wife, Karen, and two children Zack (Morgan) and Jordan (Alyssa) and his many dog companions, including Hobbes, Finley, and Frankie. “When his grandchildren (Jack, Miller, and Nora) were born,” the family said, “he was the first to jump to the ground to teach them to crawl, spending almost as much time on the ground as the newborns.”

Funeral arrangements had not been announced.