Sep 27, 2017
Episode 357 of the Short Time Wrestling Podcast visits with
Lehigh alum and wrestling media member Denny Diehl as he shares his
memories and stories about the late John Harmon.
John J. Harmon, the EIWA's Sports Information Director Emeritus,
passed away Tuesday, September 26, 2017. A 1959 graduate of Lehigh
University John earned a B.A. in mathematics, is survived by his
wife Elaine Oberkotter Harmon and his daughters Debbie and Wendy
and their families.
John was a computer programmer/systems analyst by profession. Many
knew him as the publisher for twenty-four years of the EIWA
Newsletter, the clearinghouse of all information regarding the
teams of the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association, the
nation's oldest wrestling conference. He was the EIWA Sports
Information Director for more than two decades. John worked with
Greg Strobel, the EIWA's Executive Director, to create the
conference's first website which incorporates many of the features
of the EIWA Newsletter, which ceased publication in 2014. John
co-authored the first and second editions of The History of the
EIWA and from 1983-90 was editor of National Mat News. In 2012 he
received the Dellinger Award as the nation's top wrestling
journalist. He was a member of the Board of Governors of the
National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater, OK, its NJ Wrestling
Hall of Fame chapter and served a decade on the EIWA Hall of Fame
Committee.
The generosity of John and Elaine to Lehigh was boundless. They
were the lead donors for the renovations of Grace Hall that became
Leeman-Turner Arena. Typical of the man, he insisted that the arena
be named, not after himself, but after Hall of Fame coaches Gerry
Leeman and Thad Turner. The Harmons also supported the building of
Goodman Stadium, the head wrestling coach and assistant coaches’
endowments, the Michael Caruso Wrestling Complex, and the John J.
Harmon '59 Wrestling Scholarship. Elaine assembled thousands of
care packages for service members who were deployed to Iraq and
Afghanistan.
His community activities included the Lawrence Township Board of
Education, the Mercer County Human Services Advisory Council, the
Lawrence Rotary Club, and several New Jersey statewide committees
dealing with education. A lifelong railroad enthusiast and
investor, Harmon was a member of the National Railroad Historical
Society.
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