Jack South

Jack South was famous as a stepdad of Hollywood top actor Tom Cruise. South was a World War II veteran. 

He was married to his ex-wife (Tom’s mom) for 32 years

South married Mary Lee Pfeiffer in 1978, following her divorce from her first husband in 1974. They first met at an electronics convention where South worked in plastics. 

South accepted not only her but also her four children, whom she shared with her ex-husband Thomas Mapother III and helped in raising them. 

Tom was sixteen at the time of their marriage. When Tom Cruise sought their approval for pursuing his acting career, both South and Marry Lee supported his decision wholeheartedly and gave their blessing because they knew that it was God-gifted talent. 

South provided Cruise with a loan of $850, which Cruise later paid back.

Marriage began to fall apart after his wife converted to Scientology 

Everything was going well in the lives of South and Mary Lee until she converted to Scientology. 

The marriage began to fall apart after Cruise’s then-wife, Katie Holmes, gave birth to their daughter Suri in April 2006. 

The couple flew to Los Angeles to meet their granddaughter. Marry Le served as Suri Cruise’s nanny until his divorce from Katie Holmes and was later immersed in Scientology. 

But Jack, who was a devout catholic, denied converting into Scientology. According to the sources, South flew back to his home Marco Island, Florida, alone, and Mary never returned. 

Later in 2010, South filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences, and according to the divorce documents, the address of Mary Lee was a Scientology-owned building in Clearwater, Fla. Their divorce was finalized in 2012.

Cause of death

South was diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which causes airflow blockage and breathing-related problems, and was hospitalized two weeks before his last breath. 

He passed away on the 25th of July, 2015, at 89. His ex-spouse and stepson neither attended him on his death bed nor his funeral

South's health was getting worse two weeks before his death, but not even a day Cruise paid a visit to him.

A few weeks before his death, he gave an emotional interview where he admitted to not being visited by his stepson, whom he claimed of knowing before he was Tom. 

He said it had been a while he had not seen him and would rather not go into that because he was taking care of himself the best he could. 

Even when he was counting his last breath, they did not show up. It was not the case of Tom’s busy schedule, but at the time, Tom was partying in Nashville, Tennessee, when he was being treated at Frances Georgeson Hospice House in Naples, Florida. 

The surprising thing is that they even did not make it to his funeral. Whatever may be the reason, he was the one who loved his ex-spouse Mary Lee and accepted her children wholeheartedly, and supported Cruise in his career. 

Only his step-daughter Marian Henry and grandson Cal attended his funeral.

What did Tom say about him?

Tom once said feeling threatened by his stepdad in the beginning, but, he also said he was such a wise, smart man who loved his mother to the depth that he took all four young people with him. 

He also added he and his stepdad would bet on football games and described him as a terrible bettor. 

After Tom visited his father, Thomas, who died of cancer in 1984, he said that his later father felt remorse for a lot that had happened. 

According to him, his late father, Thomas, whom he considered a Bully, was a person who did not have a huge influence in his teen days and admitted to receiving the values and motivation from his stepdad.

Net Worth 

Since Jack is no more in this world, we have the net worth of his stepson Tom Cruise who has amassed a jaw-dropping fortune from his glittering career which is:

Age 

1. He passed away at the age of 89.

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