John Gilbert Jolly, 88, died at 8:18 p.m. Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, at The Waters of Rockport. He was born in Evansville Nov. 15, 1936, to L.G. and Doris (Cotton) Jolly.
Jolly graduated from Rockport High School in 1954 and received an athletic scholarship to George Washington University, where he played basketball, was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha, and graduated with a B.S. degree in 1958. He earned his master’s degree in 1960 from American University. During college, Jolly worked for five years on Capitol Hill for the U.S. House of Representatives.
After returning to Rockport in 1960, Jolly began teaching in Kentucky at Davies County Senior High School. In 1961 he began teaching in Luce Township, where he also coached football and basketball from 1961 to 1965. Following a school consolidation, Jolly moved to South Spencer High School, where he was the first football coach and taught until his retirement in 1994. He was inducted into the Indiana High School Coaches Hall of Fame in 2022. He served several years on the county parks board and was a member of Trinity United Methodist and then Mount Zion Church.
Jolly’s hobbies included golf, fishing, hunting, woodworking, and making fishing lures. He hoped that he would be remembered for his love of working with young people.
He is survived by his wife of 68 years, Shirley (Richards) Jolly, as well as two children, Steve Jolly and Lisa Jolly Lieberman. Steve lives in Austin, Texas; Lisa lives with her husband, Kurt, in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Jolly is also survived by two grandchildren, Elizabeth Lieberman Shoup (Allen) and Jonathan Lieberman.
He was preceded in death by his brother Paul Jolly.
Services are 10 a.m. Friday, November 22, at Boultinghouse Funeral Home in Rockport with Jimmy Ahl officiating. Burial will follow at Sunset Hill Cemetery.
Visitation is 6 until 8 p.m. Thursday, November 21, at the funeral home.
Friends may leave a condolence for the family at www.BoultinghouseFuneralHome.com.
