Joe Vann: beloved athlete, educator and friend
By DAVE SEATON Winfield Publishing Chairman Mar 29, 2014 1
(Editor’s note: Bill Medley and Karen Vann Young contributed to this column.)
Joe Vann was the life of the party “in a very pleasant way,” his long-time friend Bill Medley said
Young people were drawn to Joe. He was the unofficial counselor to a great many boys and girls who grew up in Winfield. “Kids who couldn’t talk to anyone else would go to Joe,” Medley remembered.
Retired as a coach and athletic director at Winfield High School, Joe Vann died March 13 at age 92.
Joe was an extraordinary athlete.
He came to Southwestern College in 1941 to study and play football and lived above the fire station with teammate Bob Duncan. Both were poor and shared a single white dress shirt for dates. “The last one to wear it had to take it to the cleaners,” said Jane Duncan, Bob’s widow.
Joe left Southwestern in 1942 to join the Navy, as did Bob, and fight in World War II.
Joe returned to college after the war and quarterbacked Southwestern’s 1946 football team, which was made up of older combat veterans from across the country. “Joe was the only person I know who could have brought that bunch together and made them into a team,” Medley said.
The team became a fun-loving group, eating and going on outings together, Jane Duncan recalled.
Joe was a very good punter. In a game against St. Benedict’s, he kicked a 93-yard punt, with roll, according to Medley. Joe was also a good baseball pitcher and threw for a team in Winfield Night Baseball.
Joe was born in Big Cabin, Oka., and came of age in Commerce, Okla., where he was a friend and neighbor of Mickey Mantle, the great New York Yankee home run hitter. Mantle was 10 years younger than Joe and looked up to him.
LeRoy Wheeler learned this when Mantle, learning he was from Winfield, approached him on a golf course in Missouri and called Joe Vann his hero.
“The natives of Commerce will tell you Mickey Mantle was the second most talented athlete in Commerce,” Medley said with a straight face. “The first was Joe Vann.”
Joe himself always said his two brothers were better athletes than he was, according to his daughter, Karen Young.
Joe’s heritage was Cherokee. He was named for Joseph Vann, an early chief of the Cherokee people in Georgia, long before they were driven west on the Trail of Tears. Two of his sisters attended Haskell Institute in Lawrence and his older sister, Ermina, became an Indian agent in Oklahoma and Arizona.
Joe was a double cousin of Will Rogers, who also hailed from northeast Oklahoma and had Cherokee heritage, according to Karen. A double cousin is related on both sides of his or her family.
After college, Joe taught and coached in Glen Elder and Marion before returning to Winfield in 1953 to coach football at Winfield High School. His 1958 team shared the Ark Valley League championship with Arkansas City.
Bill Medley first met Joe in 1946.
Medley became principal at Winfield High in 1957 while Joe was coaching there, and the two continued what became a lifelong friendship. “Joe was very loyal,” Medley said. Joe went on to become athletic director in 1961, working with Medley who was superintendent of schools.
Joe also helped coach track at Winfield High School and coached several sports and taught social science at the Winfield Junior High School. He became locally famous for regaling his students with stories from his Navy days, when he served on a destroyer, the USS Martin E. Ray, that hunted submarines in the Atlantic.
The track at Winfield High was named for Joe in 1989. He was admitted to the Southwestern College Hall of Fame in 1992.
Joe’s wife, Wanda (Holt) Vann, died in 2004. They had three children: Karen, who lives in San Rafael, Calif.; Steve, an outstanding tennis player at the University of Kansas and coach at Southwestern, who unfortunately died at age 54; and Teresa, now a Creative Community Living resident. CCL serves the developmentally disabled.
Joe and Wanda were devoted to Teresa. They supported her at home for years. Joe retired from coaching in 1960 so he could spend more time with Teresa, taking her to a park frequently. After Wanda’s death, Teresa lived with Joe until he was about 85 before finally going to CCL.
Joe was at home until he died. “He had a support system second to none,” Medley said. The friends Joe Vann made and mentored during his 60-plus years in Winfield, along with his family, gave that support system strength.
Speaking for himself and no doubt others, Medley said he was proud to have had Joe Vann as a friend.
Courtesy of Courier-Traveler - Winfield, Kansas.
By DAVE SEATON Winfield Publishing Chairman Mar 29, 2014 1
(Editor’s note: Bill Medley and Karen Vann Young contributed to this column.)
Joe Vann was the life of the party “in a very pleasant way,” his long-time friend Bill Medley said
Young people were drawn to Joe. He was the unofficial counselor to a great many boys and girls who grew up in Winfield. “Kids who couldn’t talk to anyone else would go to Joe,” Medley remembered.
Retired as a coach and athletic director at Winfield High School, Joe Vann died March 13 at age 92.
Joe was an extraordinary athlete.
He came to Southwestern College in 1941 to study and play football and lived above the fire station with teammate Bob Duncan. Both were poor and shared a single white dress shirt for dates. “The last one to wear it had to take it to the cleaners,” said Jane Duncan, Bob’s widow.
Joe left Southwestern in 1942 to join the Navy, as did Bob, and fight in World War II.
Joe returned to college after the war and quarterbacked Southwestern’s 1946 football team, which was made up of older combat veterans from across the country. “Joe was the only person I know who could have brought that bunch together and made them into a team,” Medley said.
The team became a fun-loving group, eating and going on outings together, Jane Duncan recalled.
Joe was a very good punter. In a game against St. Benedict’s, he kicked a 93-yard punt, with roll, according to Medley. Joe was also a good baseball pitcher and threw for a team in Winfield Night Baseball.
Joe was born in Big Cabin, Oka., and came of age in Commerce, Okla., where he was a friend and neighbor of Mickey Mantle, the great New York Yankee home run hitter. Mantle was 10 years younger than Joe and looked up to him.
LeRoy Wheeler learned this when Mantle, learning he was from Winfield, approached him on a golf course in Missouri and called Joe Vann his hero.
“The natives of Commerce will tell you Mickey Mantle was the second most talented athlete in Commerce,” Medley said with a straight face. “The first was Joe Vann.”
Joe himself always said his two brothers were better athletes than he was, according to his daughter, Karen Young.
Joe’s heritage was Cherokee. He was named for Joseph Vann, an early chief of the Cherokee people in Georgia, long before they were driven west on the Trail of Tears. Two of his sisters attended Haskell Institute in Lawrence and his older sister, Ermina, became an Indian agent in Oklahoma and Arizona.
Joe was a double cousin of Will Rogers, who also hailed from northeast Oklahoma and had Cherokee heritage, according to Karen. A double cousin is related on both sides of his or her family.
After college, Joe taught and coached in Glen Elder and Marion before returning to Winfield in 1953 to coach football at Winfield High School. His 1958 team shared the Ark Valley League championship with Arkansas City.
Bill Medley first met Joe in 1946.
Medley became principal at Winfield High in 1957 while Joe was coaching there, and the two continued what became a lifelong friendship. “Joe was very loyal,” Medley said. Joe went on to become athletic director in 1961, working with Medley who was superintendent of schools.
Joe also helped coach track at Winfield High School and coached several sports and taught social science at the Winfield Junior High School. He became locally famous for regaling his students with stories from his Navy days, when he served on a destroyer, the USS Martin E. Ray, that hunted submarines in the Atlantic.
The track at Winfield High was named for Joe in 1989. He was admitted to the Southwestern College Hall of Fame in 1992.
Joe’s wife, Wanda (Holt) Vann, died in 2004. They had three children: Karen, who lives in San Rafael, Calif.; Steve, an outstanding tennis player at the University of Kansas and coach at Southwestern, who unfortunately died at age 54; and Teresa, now a Creative Community Living resident. CCL serves the developmentally disabled.
Joe and Wanda were devoted to Teresa. They supported her at home for years. Joe retired from coaching in 1960 so he could spend more time with Teresa, taking her to a park frequently. After Wanda’s death, Teresa lived with Joe until he was about 85 before finally going to CCL.
Joe was at home until he died. “He had a support system second to none,” Medley said. The friends Joe Vann made and mentored during his 60-plus years in Winfield, along with his family, gave that support system strength.
Speaking for himself and no doubt others, Medley said he was proud to have had Joe Vann as a friend.
Courtesy of Courier-Traveler - Winfield, Kansas.
Joe Vann: beloved athlete, educator and friend
By DAVE SEATON Winfield Publishing Chairman Mar 29, 2014 1
(Editor’s note: Bill Medley and Karen Vann Young contributed to this column.)
Joe Vann was the life of the party “in a very pleasant way,” his long-time friend Bill Medley said
Young people were drawn to Joe. He was the unofficial counselor to a great many boys and girls who grew up in Winfield. “Kids who couldn’t talk to anyone else would go to Joe,” Medley remembered.
Retired as a coach and athletic director at Winfield High School, Joe Vann died March 13 at age 92.
Joe was an extraordinary athlete.
He came to Southwestern College in 1941 to study and play football and lived above the fire station with teammate Bob Duncan. Both were poor and shared a single white dress shirt for dates. “The last one to wear it had to take it to the cleaners,” said Jane Duncan, Bob’s widow.
Joe left Southwestern in 1942 to join the Navy, as did Bob, and fight in World War II.
Joe returned to college after the war and quarterbacked Southwestern’s 1946 football team, which was made up of older combat veterans from across the country. “Joe was the only person I know who could have brought that bunch together and made them into a team,” Medley said.
The team became a fun-loving group, eating and going on outings together, Jane Duncan recalled.
Joe was a very good punter. In a game against St. Benedict’s, he kicked a 93-yard punt, with roll, according to Medley. Joe was also a good baseball pitcher and threw for a team in Winfield Night Baseball.
Joe was born in Big Cabin, Oka., and came of age in Commerce, Okla., where he was a friend and neighbor of Mickey Mantle, the great New York Yankee home run hitter. Mantle was 10 years younger than Joe and looked up to him.
LeRoy Wheeler learned this when Mantle, learning he was from Winfield, approached him on a golf course in Missouri and called Joe Vann his hero.
“The natives of Commerce will tell you Mickey Mantle was the second most talented athlete in Commerce,” Medley said with a straight face. “The first was Joe Vann.”
Joe himself always said his two brothers were better athletes than he was, according to his daughter, Karen Young.
Joe’s heritage was Cherokee. He was named for Joseph Vann, an early chief of the Cherokee people in Georgia, long before they were driven west on the Trail of Tears. Two of his sisters attended Haskell Institute in Lawrence and his older sister, Ermina, became an Indian agent in Oklahoma and Arizona.
Joe was a double cousin of Will Rogers, who also hailed from northeast Oklahoma and had Cherokee heritage, according to Karen. A double cousin is related on both sides of his or her family.
After college, Joe taught and coached in Glen Elder and Marion before returning to Winfield in 1953 to coach football at Winfield High School. His 1958 team shared the Ark Valley League championship with Arkansas City.
Bill Medley first met Joe in 1946.
Medley became principal at Winfield High in 1957 while Joe was coaching there, and the two continued what became a lifelong friendship. “Joe was very loyal,” Medley said. Joe went on to become athletic director in 1961, working with Medley who was superintendent of schools.
Joe also helped coach track at Winfield High School and coached several sports and taught social science at the Winfield Junior High School. He became locally famous for regaling his students with stories from his Navy days, when he served on a destroyer, the USS Martin E. Ray, that hunted submarines in the Atlantic.
The track at Winfield High was named for Joe in 1989. He was admitted to the Southwestern College Hall of Fame in 1992.
Joe’s wife, Wanda (Holt) Vann, died in 2004. They had three children: Karen, who lives in San Rafael, Calif.; Steve, an outstanding tennis player at the University of Kansas and coach at Southwestern, who unfortunately died at age 54; and Teresa, now a Creative Community Living resident. CCL serves the developmentally disabled.
Joe and Wanda were devoted to Teresa. They supported her at home for years. Joe retired from coaching in 1960 so he could spend more time with Teresa, taking her to a park frequently. After Wanda’s death, Teresa lived with Joe until he was about 85 before finally going to CCL.
Joe was at home until he died. “He had a support system second to none,” Medley said. The friends Joe Vann made and mentored during his 60-plus years in Winfield, along with his family, gave that support system strength.
Speaking for himself and no doubt others, Medley said he was proud to have had Joe Vann as a friend.
Courtesy of Courier-Traveler - Winfield, Kansas.
By DAVE SEATON Winfield Publishing Chairman Mar 29, 2014 1
(Editor’s note: Bill Medley and Karen Vann Young contributed to this column.)
Joe Vann was the life of the party “in a very pleasant way,” his long-time friend Bill Medley said
Young people were drawn to Joe. He was the unofficial counselor to a great many boys and girls who grew up in Winfield. “Kids who couldn’t talk to anyone else would go to Joe,” Medley remembered.
Retired as a coach and athletic director at Winfield High School, Joe Vann died March 13 at age 92.
Joe was an extraordinary athlete.
He came to Southwestern College in 1941 to study and play football and lived above the fire station with teammate Bob Duncan. Both were poor and shared a single white dress shirt for dates. “The last one to wear it had to take it to the cleaners,” said Jane Duncan, Bob’s widow.
Joe left Southwestern in 1942 to join the Navy, as did Bob, and fight in World War II.
Joe returned to college after the war and quarterbacked Southwestern’s 1946 football team, which was made up of older combat veterans from across the country. “Joe was the only person I know who could have brought that bunch together and made them into a team,” Medley said.
The team became a fun-loving group, eating and going on outings together, Jane Duncan recalled.
Joe was a very good punter. In a game against St. Benedict’s, he kicked a 93-yard punt, with roll, according to Medley. Joe was also a good baseball pitcher and threw for a team in Winfield Night Baseball.
Joe was born in Big Cabin, Oka., and came of age in Commerce, Okla., where he was a friend and neighbor of Mickey Mantle, the great New York Yankee home run hitter. Mantle was 10 years younger than Joe and looked up to him.
LeRoy Wheeler learned this when Mantle, learning he was from Winfield, approached him on a golf course in Missouri and called Joe Vann his hero.
“The natives of Commerce will tell you Mickey Mantle was the second most talented athlete in Commerce,” Medley said with a straight face. “The first was Joe Vann.”
Joe himself always said his two brothers were better athletes than he was, according to his daughter, Karen Young.
Joe’s heritage was Cherokee. He was named for Joseph Vann, an early chief of the Cherokee people in Georgia, long before they were driven west on the Trail of Tears. Two of his sisters attended Haskell Institute in Lawrence and his older sister, Ermina, became an Indian agent in Oklahoma and Arizona.
Joe was a double cousin of Will Rogers, who also hailed from northeast Oklahoma and had Cherokee heritage, according to Karen. A double cousin is related on both sides of his or her family.
After college, Joe taught and coached in Glen Elder and Marion before returning to Winfield in 1953 to coach football at Winfield High School. His 1958 team shared the Ark Valley League championship with Arkansas City.
Bill Medley first met Joe in 1946.
Medley became principal at Winfield High in 1957 while Joe was coaching there, and the two continued what became a lifelong friendship. “Joe was very loyal,” Medley said. Joe went on to become athletic director in 1961, working with Medley who was superintendent of schools.
Joe also helped coach track at Winfield High School and coached several sports and taught social science at the Winfield Junior High School. He became locally famous for regaling his students with stories from his Navy days, when he served on a destroyer, the USS Martin E. Ray, that hunted submarines in the Atlantic.
The track at Winfield High was named for Joe in 1989. He was admitted to the Southwestern College Hall of Fame in 1992.
Joe’s wife, Wanda (Holt) Vann, died in 2004. They had three children: Karen, who lives in San Rafael, Calif.; Steve, an outstanding tennis player at the University of Kansas and coach at Southwestern, who unfortunately died at age 54; and Teresa, now a Creative Community Living resident. CCL serves the developmentally disabled.
Joe and Wanda were devoted to Teresa. They supported her at home for years. Joe retired from coaching in 1960 so he could spend more time with Teresa, taking her to a park frequently. After Wanda’s death, Teresa lived with Joe until he was about 85 before finally going to CCL.
Joe was at home until he died. “He had a support system second to none,” Medley said. The friends Joe Vann made and mentored during his 60-plus years in Winfield, along with his family, gave that support system strength.
Speaking for himself and no doubt others, Medley said he was proud to have had Joe Vann as a friend.
Courtesy of Courier-Traveler - Winfield, Kansas.
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