J. Eric Bornhofft

GLOUCESTER - J. Eric Bornhofft, 78 of Gloucester, MA passed away at his home with his two sons and devoted longtime partner by his side, after a courageous battle with cancer. Born on November 19th 1947, Eric was the son of Nancy Lowe and Henry J. Bornhofft Jr., and he attended Dedham High School (1966) before earning his B.A. and M.B.A. from Boston University.

Eric began his professional voyage at Shawmut Bank before joining the family business, James W. Daly Inc., a wholesale pharmaceutical distribution company later acquired by Cardinal Health in 1985. He went on to complete the Advanced Management Program (AMP) at Harvard Business School. From there, he served as President and CEO of New England Clinical Laboratories, Inc. in Tilton, NH. Eric later charted his own course as an independent consultant, offering strategic and operational guidance to venture capital, merchant banking and technology firms. His senior roles included Managing Director at Med Tech Capital, O’Conor, Wright & Wyman and Gryphon Networks where he retired as its CFO in 2020.

But it was on the water that Eric’s truest compass pointed. He learned the currents of the Annisquam River at an early age and enjoyed sailing above all else. Sailing was his lifelong passion. As a young teen he raced his Fish boat, Princess, across Ipswich Bay, and throughout his life he logged thousands of offshore miles and countless memorable adventures aboard his sloops Scrim and Jade, and his beloved ketch Dove. Eric knew the Down East passages by heart and particularly enjoyed raising the Genoa along the Eggemoggin Reach. A devoted Bluewater sailor, Eric competed many times in the Newport-Bermuda, Marion-Bermuda, Bermuda One-Two, and Marblehead-Halifax races. In 1988 he soloed his 41’ Hinkley, Jade to Bermuda in December – a passage that turned harrowing when a squall knocked the boat down, wiped out all electronics and dismasted the vessel. Missing at sea for three days, he and Jade nonetheless made safe landfall, a testament to his seamanship and resolve.

Eric also ran the Monhegan Sail Challenge for five years, a race from Provincetown to Monhegan, Maine that raised over $100,000 for the Boston Children’s Hospital. In his later years he taught navigation for MIT’s Safety at Sea Program, earned his USCG Captains License with TWIC after retiring, and completed a full refit of his father’s 1929 Chris-Craft, Phoebe, with his own hands.

He was a lifelong member of the Annisquam Yacht Club and the Cruising Club of America, a Trustee of the Squam Rock Land Trust and a member of the Myopia Hunt Club and Miles River Marsh Rats.

Eric is survived by his significant other, Walda Keohane, his sister, Lisbeth Bornhofft, daughter-in-law, Emily A. Calise; his two sons, Elias Brooks Bornhofft (grandsons Elias Brooks Jr. and Alden Winslow) and John Eric Bornhofft Jr. He was predeceased by his brother, Henry J. Bornhofft III.

The family extends heartfelt thanks to friends and neighbors across Cape Ann and beyond whose steady presence and kindness were a true harbor.

ARRANGEMENTS: At this time, there will be no services. Donations in Eric’s memory may be made to Boston Children’s Hospital, 401 Park Drive, Suite 602 | Boston, MA 02215. Assisting the family with the arrangements is O'Donnell Cremations - Funerals - Celebrations, 167 Maple St., Danvers. To share a memory or offer a condolence, please visit www.odonnellfuneralservice.com.