READING, Pa. - A good story-teller is hard to find.
The same can be said for a man who can tell a good joke. John Yocum Sr. was the rare treat who possessed the ability to do both.
His life and memories, including jokes and stories, were celebrated Thursday morning after the former Alvernia University golf coach passed away last Sunday at the age of 87.
Yocum was a legend in Berks county. His stature evidenced by the constant flow of well-wishers who passed through St. Peter's UCC over a two hour stretch Thursday morning. John Yocum Jr. recounted during the morning memorial service how his father's joke and story-telling were a constant theme as he shared with and heard from both friends and family on hand to pay their respects.
Yocum Sr. was a 1940 graduate of Reading High School. He earned his undergraduate degree in economics in 1949 from Albright College, where he was a member of the basketball team. He was inducted into the Albright Athletics Hall of Fame in 1991.
He spent 50 years working in the local golf business as a pro at Galen Hall, Reading Country Club, Flying Hills and the Pagoda Golf Area. In 1983 he put his desire to teach into use as the head golf coach at then Alvernia College. He coached for 16 years at Alvernia leading the Crusaders to the NAIA District 19 championship four times and the first Pennsylvania Athletic Conference championship in 1993. He was inducted into the Alvernia Hall of Fame with the inaugural class in 2008, and he is also a member of the Berks County Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.
Alvernia and Albright are in the fifth year of an annual golf match played in Yocum's honor, the John Yocum Challenge Cup. "[Albright golf coach] Ray [Mest] and I kicked around ideas for a competition that would be a change from the everyday medal-play our teams are used to," recounted Alvernia head coach Jon King. "The Ryder Cup was an easy format to mimic and John Yocum was the first name we both thought of to name it after."
"John was able to attend the event the first few years, so the guys got to meet him personally," continued King. "We're both young programs right now, so unfortunately most of the current rosters haven't had the chance to meet John personally, and more importantly hear a story or two."
"We have purposefully taken the time before the tournament starts each of the past two years to explain to the competitors who the cup is named after," said King. "We did that again last Saturday before day one at Reading [Country Club]; then unfortunately on Monday had to gather the 12 players on the practice green to silently observe John's passing."
Until the last few years Yocum made regular appearances in the Athletic Office at Alvernia. He always sat in the chair just inside the office door, and with wallet in hand told jokes and stories to anyone who wandered into range.
John Jr.'s stories on Thursday about his father victimizing someone who knew no better with a baseball joke about the short stop between second and third, or questions about his maiden name weren't reserved for certain gatherings. Those jokes were brought out on just about every visit. And it made you chuckle every time.
If Yocum Sr. had a vault in his mind where he stored his routine stories and jokes then his wallet served as the written backup. In today's world of gigabytes and digital storage Yocum kept better records than most on the back of a receipt wrapped in leather in his back pocket.
Every golf roster he coached at Alvernia was meticulously inscribed in pencil. "He was a fascinating resource for historical information as it pertained to Alvernia golf," said King, who also serves as the school's sports information director. "The records he carried with him every day are better than what I can research here in a week's time."
Despite his passing, the legend lives on. In the yearly competition between two schools John Yocum was dedicated to, in the infinite number of his jokes or stories that will continue to be told, in the countless lives he has touched in Berks County, in his likeness prominently displayed in halls of fame, and hopefully somewhere in the handful of people who posses the rare skill for either telling a joke or recounting a story who at one time or another shared either, or both--and a smile--with John Yocum.
Information for this release provided by Alvernia University, Sports Information Director and Men's Golf Coach Jon King
