Dr. Jack Victor

Dr. Jack Victor, renowned humanitarian and President Emeritus of the World Rehabilitation Fund (WRF), passed away peacefully on Tuesday morning, April 15, 2025. Throughout his remarkable life, Dr. Victor demonstrated an unwavering commitment to improving the lives of persons with disabilities worldwide, leaving an indelible mark on communities across Haiti, Cambodia, Lebanon, and numerous other regions affected by conflict and natural disasters. His last project - on which he worked until earlier this year - was to find ways to partner and help the people in Ukraine.

Perhaps most notably, Dr. Victor's work in Cambodia with landmine victims transformed countless lives and earned him prestigious recognition from the United Nations. His impact was so profound that a street near Phnom Penh was named in his honor—a testament to his legacy of compassion and service. Dr. Victor's humanitarian efforts extended far beyond Cambodia and Haiti. His work with Syrian refugees in Lebanon provided essential prosthetics services to those displaced by conflict, helping countless individuals regain mobility and independence. His contributions were highlighted in TIME magazine and featured on NBC Nightly News, bringing attention to the critical needs of disabled refugee populations.

Dr. Victor had many other passions - ones that he often combined with his disability advocacy. He was a music lover. Dr. Victor recognized the importance of creative expression in everyone’s life and one of the great projects in which he was involved was supporting music programs for children with disabilities in Haiti and St. Vincent, While he dabbled on the piano, guitar, violin and tin flute - his real skill was in recognizing and appreciating the skills of others. An avid jazz fan, he was a member of the Sidney Bechet society and other jazz organizations. His son, Jason, took that love and made it is own and frequently performs on guitar.

Another passion was his love of art and architecture. And making lists with his remarkable research abilities. Dr. Victor turned that ability to become a volunteer tour guide with Big Apple Greeters when someone suggested turning his homegrown research of NY’s public art and architecture into a skillset and knowledge base for them. He felt, as a life-long NYer, that the streets of NY have so many hidden gems of art and that if only people looked or were shown where to look they would appreciate NYC even more. During his time there, Dr. Victor led nearly 200 Greets and met about 500 visitors during his time volunteering. And while he loved to travel the world with his wife, he loved his home town even more. His daughter took his love of travel, NYC and making lists and made it her own.

Dr. Victor will be remembered not only for his professional accomplishments but for his unwavering belief in the dignity and potential of everyone, everywhere. His lifelong dedication to rehabilitation services, disability advocacy, and humanitarian relief has created lasting pathways to independence for thousands of individuals around the world.

He is survived by his loving family, colleagues at the World Rehabilitation Fund, and the countless lives he transformed through his work. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to be made to continue Dr. Victor's life's work and convictions:

World Rehabilitation Fund https://worldrehabfund.org/ways-to-get-involved/donate/                                                                  

Americans United https://www.au.org/

Southern Poverty Law Center https://secure.splcenter.org/page/64745/donate/1

ACLU https://action.aclu.org/give/pm-donate-to-aclu

Center for Reproductive Rights (formerly NARAL) https://secure.reproductiverights.org/a/join-the-fight

Prosthetika https://www.prosthetika.org/donate/

Partners of the Americas https://donations-partnersamericas.nationbuilder.com/

Big Apple Greeters https://bigapplegreeter.kindful.com/