(1917–2005)

Jonathan Westervelt Warner was born on July 28, 1917, in Decatur, Illinois. As a child, he moved to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, following his grandfather Herbert E. Westervelt’s consolidation of Alabama’s first modern pulp and paper mill in 1929.

He graduated from Culver Military Academy in Indiana in 1936 and earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Washington & Lee University in 1940.

From 1941 to 1945, Jack served in the United States Army Cavalry as a commissioned officer. He was part of the Mars Task Force in the Burma Theater of Operations during World War II.

Jack led Gulf States Paper Corporation for nearly 50 years, transforming it from a single-product, single-plant operation into a diversified industry leader. Under his leadership, the company expanded into timber, lumber, wood pulp, paperboard, molded wood products, and folding cartons across five states. Gulf States received numerous environmental awards from the National Wildlife Federation, the American Paper Institute, and the Environmental Protection Agency.

- He held several prominent business roles, including:

- Chairman and President, Alabama Chamber of Commerce (three terms)

- Chairman, Board of Visitors, UA College of Commerce and Business

- Trustee, American Forest Institute

- Chairman and President, Warrior-Tombigbee Development Association

- Member, National Board of the Smithsonian Institution

- Trustee Emeritus, Washington & Lee University

A champion swimmer at Washington & Lee University, Jack set a school record in the breaststroke. He remained active in sports throughout his life, particularly in swimming, tennis, and horseback riding.

In the 1960s and 1970s, he operated one of the nation’s top stables of championship thoroughbreds. His horse Do-Right contributed to a U.S. gold medal at the 1975 Pan-American Games, while Tuscaloosa earned a bronze medal at the Montreal Olympics.

In 1989, Jack received the Alabama Distinguished Sportsman Award from the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. He also founded the Northriver Yacht Club, a premier recreational and residential complex in Tuscaloosa, and established The Westervelt Lodge, a renowned managed hunting preserve.

A passionate collector of American art, Jack assembled one of the most significant private collections in the country. His collection included works by Thomas Cole, Frederic Church, Albert Bierstadt, Mary Cassatt, Winslow Homer, Edward Hopper, and others.

He was honored with the Frederic Edwin Church Award in 2010. In 2011, the Jack and Susan Warner Hudson River Gallery was named in his honor at the Metropolitan Museum of American Art in New York.

- Warner was widely respected for his philanthropy. He supported institutions such as:

- University of Alabama

- Auburn University

- Culver Military Academy

- Washington & Lee University

- First Presbyterian Church

- United Way

- City of Tuscaloosa

1945–1950: Sales Manager

1950–1957: Executive Vice President

1957–1959: President

1959–1995: President and Chairman of the Board

1995–2005: Member, Board of Directors

- President (2 terms), Greater Tuscaloosa Chamber of Commerce

- Director, American Paper Institute

- Director, Alabama Great Southern Railroad Company

- Director, Associated Industries of Alabama

- Director, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta (Birmingham Branch)

- Director, First Alabama Bank of Tuscaloosa

- Trustee, Culver Educational Foundation

- Trustee, Southwestern University at Memphis

- Trustee, Mount Vernon

- Member, President’s Cabinet, University of Alabama

- Alabama Hall of Fame (1979)

- Alabama Business Hall of Fame (1983)

- Alabama Athletic Hall of Fame (1989)

- Distinguished Achievement Award, University of Alabama (1999)

- Frances G. Summersell Award, University of Alabama (1999)

- Alexis de Tocqueville Award, United Way of West Alabama (1998)

- Athletic Hall of Fame, Washington & Lee University (1998)

- Lifetime Achievement Award, Alabama State Council on the Arts (1997)

- Lifetime Achievement Award, Greater Tuscaloosa Chamber of Commerce (1997)

- Frederic Edwin Church Award (2010)

- Pillars of the Community Award (2011)