In Memoriam: John Jennings

The Gonzaga community was saddened to hear about the recent passing of Gonzaga friend, football coach, and photographer John Jennings. Last year, John was inducted into Gonzaga's Athletic Hall of Fame for his longtime dedication to Gonzaga's Athletic Department. Below is the citation that was written by Christian Swezey '90 and read on the occasion of his induction.

As we reflect on John's example of selfless service, we join all those who are mourning his loss. May God grant him eternal rest.

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Hopefully, John Jennings is the first inductee into our Athletic Hall of Fame who intentionally flunked his Gonzaga entrance exam.

Jennings attended grade school at Holy Name in Southeast D.C. Most of his schoolmates went to St. John’s, Carroll, Mackin or Bishop McNamara. Jennings says two older friends picked Gonzaga. “And they were both pretty highbrow, rather intellectuals,” he says. “I thought no, no, no, that place isn’t for me.”

Still, at the behest of Holy Name’s principal, in the spring of 1964 Jennings took the entrance exam as an 8th grader. It rained heavily that day. Jennings took the bus. He missed his stop. That forced him to walk two blocks back to Eye Street in the miserable weather. “I flunked that test on purpose,” he says now. “The only time in my life I did that. I thought the rain, missing my stop, it was a sign from God. He didn’t want me at Gonzaga.”

God, in fact, wanted Jennings at Gonzaga. It just took a while.

Jennings attended St. John’s High, Class of 1968, and UDC. He worked for the Archdiocese of Washington for several years before taking a job in Montgomery County recreation. Starting in the 1970s he also coached Catholic Youth Organization teams at St. Gabriel parish in Northwest D.C. and junior varsity basketball at Theodore Roosevelt High. His teams had success.

In the 1976-77 school year, Jennings learned from former players he had caught the eye of Maus Collins, the legendary football coach, then at Carroll. Jennings accepted an invitation to coach football with Collins. When Collins left Carroll after the 1989 season, Jennings did too.

When Collins arrived at Gonzaga in the fall of 1991, Jennings came with him. He brought his camera.

Jennings first discovered the itch to take pictures on November 25, 1963. That day, he was one of thousands of people who lined Pennsylvania Avenue to view the transfer of President John F. Kennedy’s body, killed two days earlier, from the White House to the U.S. Capitol rotunda.

Like everyone else, Jennings was in mourning. He also noticed almost everyone around him had a camera and was taking pictures of the casket. “It was history,” he says now, “and I felt like I was missing out.” For Christmas one month later he asked for, and received, a camera.

He put it to immediate use. A religious sister at Holy Name wanted Jennings to take candid pictures of the 8th grade class. She had one rule: No one could look at the camera when the picture was being taken. Months later, the photos were exhibited at the school. A lifelong habit was born.

He did not give up his first love, football. Jennings was an assistant at Gonzaga for 10 years, helping the Eagles win two WCAC titles. After he retired, the camera took over. Jennings photographed Gonzaga sporting events, Mother’s Club events, the annual Gonzaga Gala, the annual Baccalaureate Mass before graduation.

Jennings is a D.C. lifer. His work with the Archdiocese of Washington brought him in close contact with Cardinal Patrick O’Boyle, who desegregated D.C. Catholic schools well before the landmark Brown vs. Board of Education ruling in 1954. Jennings once served on a three-year archdiocese committee with John Thompson, then the basketball coach at Georgetown. He developed a long friendship with Gonzaga’s own Joe Kozik. “He was my buddy,” Jennings says now. “He always called me ‘Coach.’ And I’d say, no you can’t do that. You’re the coach.”

Jennings spent years at St. John’s, Carroll and Gonzaga. All three are blessed by his presence.

“At the beginning of my career,” Gonzaga basketball coach Steve Turner says now, “I knew John would get shots of the team that we could share with the kids and on social media. There wasn’t a big game where John wasn’t there. It could be rain, sleet, snow, John was catching flicks of the guys to pass along to Joe Reyda. I know he’s had experience at two other places. But he cares about our kids and he cares about Gonzaga. He is all-in for the purple.”

Ladies and Gentlemen, we’re our thrilled to enshrine our First St. John’s Cadet in the Gonzaga Joe Kozik Hall of Fame. Thank you John Jennings for your long-lasting impact on Eye Street.

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