DELPHOS, OH (WLIO) - Four new members have joined the distinguished ranks of the Delphos St. John's Hall of Fame.
In honor of their achievements and contributions to the community, their photos and biographies will be added to the display of the best and brightest St. John's alumni, hanging in the main hall of the high school.
The 19th year of inductees ranged from the class of '66 to the class of '81, but all four had similar experiences in the school, church, and town that shaped who they would become.
"I really enjoyed my time at St. John's. I enjoyed it so much, I spent the next 40 years in the high school setting. I had so many good memories here at St. John's, so many good teachers, that I just thought this is what I wanted to do as a career," said Denny Schwinnen, inducted for athletic achievement.
"We're just very down-to-earth people. The ethics, the integrity, the morals. Everything is pointing due north. So to me, when you have a community like that, a school that's like that, you're just going to have great students, great teachers, great administrators, great faculty," said Phil Kortokrax, inducted for professional achievement.
"Everybody sticks together. I think that's what's missing in the world today. We're just a great group of people and that's the way we grew up. The church, everybody is close, everybody comes home when it's festival time and everything. We're just a big family," said Dan "Kermie" Kimmet, inducted for service to mankind.
"St. John's has always been great, there's no other place I'd rather be. They've been super to me through all the years, and I've been gone now for ten years and it gets away from you. I don't hardly know anybody anymore but I sure have great memories of it," said Don Huysman, inducted for service to St. John's.
You can read the full biographies of each inductee below:
Service to Mankind
Dan “Kermie” Kimmet, Class of 1975
Dan is the youngest of Joe and Betty Kimmet’s four children. He and his siblings Dennis, Dave and Deb (Kimmet) Nye grew up in a moderate, hard working family. Some of the biggest influences in Dan’s life are long time friend Jeff Drerup and his family and next door neighbors the Osting family. Coach Bob Arnzen and cousin Ron Kimmet always encouraged Dan to be involved in school actitivites.
Dan had a typical four years of high school at St. John’s. He served in the Mission Society, played freshman football, was on the golf team, athletic trainer for two years and served as an altar boy.
It was after high school that Dan found his passion. He was working with Kenny Mueller at Delphos Quarries when Kenny was serving on the Allen County Fair Board. Kenny would tell Dan about the various fair projects the Fair Board was working on such as choosing ride companies, fairground improvements, scheduling entertainment, etc… Dan was intrigued and asked how he could get involved. Coincidentally at that time Kenny was moving out of Delphos leaving that Fair Board position open. Dan applied and was elected as the Delphos representative on the Fair Board in 1981. That was the start of 40 years of service to the Allen County Fair.
During Dan’s forty years of service the Allen County Fair rose to become one of the best fairs in the state of Ohio and a year round event facility. During his tenure both the Concession and Livestock campgrounds were upgraded and new rabbit and sheep barns were built to accommodate increasing junior fair participation. An addition was added to the show arena by the Allen County Cattleman’s Association and the Schmidthorst Pavilion covered horse show arena was built. Dan helped bring the Petting Zoo to the fair and put air conditioning in the Youth Activities and Youth Exhibits building to promote off season rentals.
Dan also served on every committee at the Fair including the Parade Committee, Building and Grounds, Dairy, Beef, Sheep and Entertainment where he served for almost 40 years. It was during his time on the Harness Racing Committee that he started the Super Stakes races, Dunlap-Renner Memorial and Doc Steiner Classic. During his tenure he helped bring numerous shows and conventions to the Fairgrounds including Max’s Flea Market and Water Dog Races, Motorcycle Races and Monster Truck Show.
In his four decades of service he served as Allen County Fair Board president and vice president and served on the Ohio Fair Managers Association Board from 2006-present and was president in 2012-2013. Dan was honored in 2006 as Outstanding District Director. He was a 1997 graduate of Allen Lima Leadership and became involved with Allen Lima Youth Leadership program making sure students from St. John’s and Jefferson were involved with the program. In 2001 he was a graduate of Leadership Ohio. He was awarded Honorary Chapter Farmer by the Elida FFA in 1987-88 and served as Elida Young Farmers president from 1994-95. And most importantly he coached his boys BYAA baseball and basketball teams.
Looking forward to retirement, Dan enjoys time with Cindy, his wife of 41 years, and their children Nate (wife Brooke and daughter Irvie Jo) and Erik (wife Madison and son Nash).
When informed that he’d been elected to the Hall of Fame Dan said, “I was totally surprised. I did not have any idea that my friend Jeff Drerup had nominated me. This is a very proud moment and I’m humbled to receive this honor.”
Athletic Achievement
Denny Schwinnen, Class of 1967
Denny Schwinnen was born to Ollie and Stella Schwinnen and was the fifth of seven children. He was introduced to education first by the Franciscan nuns at Landeck grade school and later by the Sisters of Notre Dame at St. John’s. Their hard work and dedication to their students influenced him to the point that he later became a teacher and spent 40 years in the profession. He attended The Ohio State University and majored in Marketing Education, which he taught for 24 years at Elida along with spending 16 years as a guidance counselor. He later earned his Masters Degree at the University of Dayton.
In the late 1960’s tennis experienced a boom in interest. Denny and his high school friends would go to 7:30am Mass on Sunday and then head to Stadium Park to play for hours. Denny played in the Tuesday Night League and always entered the Delphos tournament finishing runner-up one year.
In 1971 Denny started teaching at Elida High School and in 1974 asked the administration if he could start a tennis program at the school. They agreed and that season Denny began the first of 36 years as boys’ varsity tennis coach at Elida high school. He also served as girls’ tennis coach for eleven years. During those 36 years his teams compiled a record of 566-264 and racked up 313 WBL wins including 37 in a row at one point. His teams won 14 WBL titles (11 boys and 3 girls). With these accomplishments Denny was recognized as WBL Coach of the Year 11 times for the boys and 3 times for the girls. He also had multiple individuals and teams compete at the state tournament. In 1979 and again in 2005 he had Doubles Teams win state championships. These decades of accomplishments led to his induction into the Ohio State Tennis Hall of Fame in 2010 and the Elida Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019. He received the Ohio Tennis Coaches Association Integrity Award and in 2009 received the Jim Rakestraw Award for coaching 36 years at the same school. His accomplishments were not confined to coaching tennis. Denny has been involved in multiple Committees at Elida High School and served as mayor and councilman for the Village of Elida.
Today Denny is enjoying retirement with his wife Barb. They enjoy their three children; Chris, Sara and Rob along with six grandchildren. Denny says he “enjoys retirement as every day is like a Saturday.” “I am humbled and honored to be part of a group I have admired for years. For a farm kid from Landeck, Ohio, this is a Big Deal to join this Outstanding Group!”
Service to St. John’s
Don Huysman, Class of 1966
I want to thank the Hall of Fame committee members for this nomination. I appreciate this honor more than you can imagine, and know that there are certainly other individuals both past and present more deserving.
I grew up in Delphos and graduated from St. John’s in 1966. I went on to receive my Bachelors in Education from Ohio State University in 1972, and my Masters from the University of Dayton in 1984.
It was my privilege to serve St. John’s from 1972 to 2013, over forty wonderful years. It was never a job to me, instead it was an opportunity to work with wonderful students, parents, teachers and staff. There was no other place I wanted to be.
No one can be successful working alone, and there are many people I would like to thank. I must start with my family - my brother Ron and his wife Barbara. My nephew Lt. Colonel Brian Huysman and his wife Michelle and their two children. My niece, Katrina Lehman and her husband Roger and their three children.
There are so many other people to thank especially: George Adams and Fran Voll who taught me to be a better administrator, Marge Clark and Judy Clark, were the best administrative assistants that anyone could imagine. They supported me and offered good advice - usually with smiles. Ralph Ricker and Nate Stant were always there to carry the load as the elementary principals. And Jane Rutledge helped by doing the athletic report. Bob Arnzen, John Gunder, Al Unterbrink and Todd Schulte all gave me lots of advice. Father Gorman and I used to talk every day. I really enjoyed learning from him.
While at St Johns I helped create some valuable projects including: a weekly newsletter for parents. I oversaw the hiring of a professional athletic trainer which helped keep our student athletes safer. And I was Principal when the Hall of Fame was created, funny how things come full circle!
During my time at St John's; I wore many different hats, serving as: Teacher, Coach, and Assistant Principal. I also served as the Athletic Director for 16 years and as the High School Principal for the final 13 years of my career. I also taught many classes at DSJ including: Economics, American Government, Current Events and World History.
I enjoyed being at St Johns so much that I was often the first to arrive in the morning, and one of the last to lock the doors in the evening. This was true even during the summers when most staff were on break.
I hope I can be remembered for one thing: to always do the best for my students, remembering that I was once a student myself and recalling the challenges facing them.
Professional Achievement
Phil Kortokrax, Class of 1981
I am very honored to be selected by the HOF to be part of the Class of 2023. I am the eldest son of Gerald and the late Phyllis Kortokrax and brother to five siblings. My time at Delphos and at St. John’s was instrumental in shaping me as an individual and instilling the values and beliefs I hold true in my life and my career.
While attending St. John’s sports were a very important part of our family. I played basketball, football and tennis and my brother Al and sisters Cyndi and Cheryl played basketball. One interaction with Coach Bob Arnzen is still with me. Beginning my junior year I was lucky to be selected as basketball team captain, a position generally held by a Senior. I took Coach Arnzen aside and suggested that he give the position to someone older. He told me that I had been selected by my teammates and that it was my responsibility to them but he would be there to help me. With him by my side I found the confidence I needed and our team delivered a winning season.
After graduating from St. John’s in 1981 I attended Northwestern College in Lima receiving an associate degree in computer programming while playing basketball for fellow DSJ grad coach Denny Elwer.
I moved to Chicago to begin work in banking. In 1984 I moved to Findlay, Ohio and soon after married my high school sweetheart, Joyce Hiett, DSJ ’80. I took classes at the University of Findlay and in 1990 received my Bachelor’s Degree and was hired by the Cooper Tire and Rubber Company by DSJ grad John Bohnlein, DSJ ’69. As I started my career at Cooper I began night school at the University of Toledo and received my MBA in 1993.
Amazingly I was with Cooper Tire and Rubber Company for over three decades. By building strong teams I have held executive positions in Technology, Manufacturing, Finance, Sales and Marketing, Business Development and Strategy. I recently retired as President of the Americas.
Joyce and I have been blessed to travel the world with Cooper, working with great people and forming friendships that will last a lifetime. As a mentor to some of the junior executives in our company I have tried to instill in them the values and beliefs that Joyce and I learned here at St. John’s: Faith, Family and Friendships. Those virtues define the “True North” direction that guides our life. We are truly blessed and we will continue to support the faith-based values and beliefs we both were taught at DSJ.
