RIP John Powless

· by · in Gold Balls, John Powless, Obituary, Tennis. ·

Click here to read a nice article about John’s many accomplishments.

Here is another article from the UW Badgers

One more article from the Madison Journal

From the ITF Website

Nice video tribute

Another video tribute

John Powless passed away today (Thursday May 20th, 2021) after a long illness. He was 88.

John was vivid. An extroverted extrovert and definitely an optimist. I knew him from tennis. He was one of the great senior players, and a real friend of senior tennis. He promoted the senior sport and played all over the world…I saw him play on grass in Perth, Australia, on red clay in Turkey, Austria, Croatia and Chile. He never forgot a name. He had a classic serve and volley game which was smooth.

I don’t think John ever met a stranger…anyone he met seemed to be a friend shortly thereafter. He was a popular guy, a really nice person.

This afternoon, Erin Nevin (from Wisconsin, as was John) and I were talking about him after a tennis match. Erin was telling us how she would practice with him when she was in Wisconsin, and said he never missed. Twenty minutes later we found out he was gone.

These photos are from a classic match between Canadian legend Lorne Main and John Powless. It was the deciding match of the Cup and John beat Lorne for the Cup (hence the hug and the expression on John’s face. Lorne rarely lost…it was a big win, on the red clay in turkey (serving and volleying all the way).
Photos from various international team matches in Austria and Turkey.
Top left, John and Brian Cheney; bottom right, John and another tennis legend, King Van Nostrand; Above John and King; John with more tennis legends, Dorothy Matthiessen and Norma Veal; top right, John with Mariana Hollman, Mary Boswell and Louise Russ and John winning more Cups.
Top middle, John and myself; middle: Erin Nevin and John; bottom right, John and Dick Doss with whom he won many gold balls.

John also appeared in the Gold Balls movie (available on Amazon prime).

John, we were lucky to have known you. We will miss you.

8 responses to “RIP John Powless”

  1. He was my very close friend on and off the tennis court. When I was representing the Swedish Tennis Associations and he the USA Tennis Associations we always found the correct way to solve all problems. He was a man you always could rely upon! Thanks, John, for many nice hours together!
    Bo Hemborg
    Sweden

    • Bo, I have a photo of John and the Swedish team. He and you were enjoying the company. So sorry he’s gone.

  2. Thanks Carolyn for the notice about John Powless and your great pictures….yes, he was everything you said; just the best of the best!

  3. John’s passing is a true loss for worldwide senior tennis as he was a great ambassador for our beloved game.

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  7. John was a wonderful man and he gave support when my wife passed away. He was a great player and a wonderful doubles partner. He’ll be missed. When John walked into a room everyone took notice.

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