Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. John's mother, Elise Miller John, was one of two daughters of brewery founder Frederick Miller. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1941 and was president of Miller Brewing from 1946 to 1947, succeeded by his cousin Fred Miller (1906–1954). John married Erica Nowotny in 1956 and the couple had nine children.
As a young man, John funded leprosariums in India and camps for Milwaukee inner-city blacks. He donated money to dig wells in drought-stricken West Africa and provided seminary training in the Philippines.[1]
De Rance FoundationEdit
In the early 1950s, Harry G. John, a devout Catholic, utilized his inheritance - Miller stock valued at $14 million - to found the De Rance Foundation, which he named after Armand Jean le Bouthillier de Rance, the 17th century abbot of the monastery at La Trappe, France. In 1972, Philip Morris through the broker Kidder Peabody, bought Miller Brewing, resulting in the value of John's stock soaring to $97 million overnight. The De Rance Foundation thus became the world's largest Catholic charity.[2] Harry distributed 10% of his profits to The Roman Catholic Church from DeRance each year.
LawsuitEdit
In 1984, Erica John and Donald Gallagher, both De Rance directors, became alarmed at Harry John's increasingly extravagant expenditure of De Rance assets on such things as entire television stations (for which John envisioned a 24-hour-a-day Catholic broadcast network), treasure hunts for sunken ships, and risky investments in gold futures and junk bonds. Mrs. John and Gallagher filed a lawsuit along with attorney Tom Cannon in Milwaukee County Circuit Court to have Harry John removed as a De Rance director. After a five-month trial, on August 21, 1986, Judge Michael Barron announced that the plaintiffs had proven their allegations. Harry John was permanently removed from the De Rance board; he divorced Erica, and moved to Pacific Palisades, California where he resided for the next six years, returning to Milwaukee in 1992.
Santa Fe CommunicationsEdit
Harry John's Santa Fe Communications managed the newly acquired television stations into a television network that combined secular programming and Catholic programming.[3] The sale of the television stations, combined with various legal settlements, brought the De Rance Foundation back to where it was before the Catholic television network venture.[1]
In a new format and in the age of cable television, the Santa Fe Communications presently produces and distributes Heart of the Nation, a Sunday Catholic Mass broadcast on various cable networks, on streaming services such as Youtube, as well as online. It assists those with disabilities who are unable to go to church.
On December 14, 1992, John was found unconscious on the floor of his apartment by a neighbor. Tom Cannon called an emergency meeting of the De Rance board, which voted to dissolve the De Rance Foundation after awarding $30 million in grants to some of John's favorite causes. The remaining $70 million was used to create a new charitable organization, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee Supporting Fund. During the court proceedings, Cannon, addressing John's wild spending, asked John whether De Rance could spend itself out of existence. Harry answered: "I think the directors could give away 100 percent of the foundation with complete propriety."[1]
John died on December 19, 1992.
Southern CrossEdit
In 1985, John prepared a legal document that would authorize the transfer of De Rance's assets to another organization he had created, Southern Cross, Inc., upon his death. In 1993, Southern Cross filed suit in Milwaukee, challenging the Archdiocese of Milwaukee Supporting Fund's receipt of the bulk of John's fortune after his death the previous year. In particular, they alleged that John was kept alive artificially until his family could dispose of De Rance's assets. "The suit is frivolous," said Cannon, "and is a last-minute effort by John's cronies to wrest control of the assets." On November 15, 1993, the suit was dismissed by Circuit Court Russell J. Stamper.
ReferencesEdit
^ abc"Harry John was not your average American Catholic. - Free Online Library". www.thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 2023-07-27.
^Kenkelen, Bill (August 22, 1986). "Head of Largest Catholic Foundation Ousted". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
^Trippett, Frank (1986-05-26). "Harry John's Holy War". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 2023-07-27.
^"Heart of the Nation :: About Us - The Sunday Mass". Heart of the Nation. Retrieved 2023-07-27.
John v. John, 153 Wis.2d 343, 450 N.W.2nd 795 (Ct.App. 1989)
August 29, 2023
harry, john, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, 2019, learn, w. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Harry G John news newspapers books scholar JSTOR May 2019 Learn how and when to remove this template message Harry G John Jr 1919 1992 was an American philanthropist founder of the De Rance Foundation and heir to the Miller Brewing Company fortune through his grandfather founder Frederick Miller Contents 1 Early years 2 De Rance Foundation 3 Lawsuit 4 Santa Fe Communications 5 Death 6 Southern Cross 7 References 8 SourcesEarly years EditBorn in Milwaukee Wisconsin John s mother Elise Miller John was one of two daughters of brewery founder Frederick Miller He graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1941 and was president of Miller Brewing from 1946 to 1947 succeeded by his cousin Fred Miller 1906 1954 John married Erica Nowotny in 1956 and the couple had nine children As a young man John funded leprosariums in India and camps for Milwaukee inner city blacks He donated money to dig wells in drought stricken West Africa and provided seminary training in the Philippines 1 De Rance Foundation EditIn the early 1950s Harry G John a devout Catholic utilized his inheritance Miller stock valued at 14 million to found the De Rance Foundation which he named after Armand Jean le Bouthillier de Rance the 17th century abbot of the monastery at La Trappe France In 1972 Philip Morris through the broker Kidder Peabody bought Miller Brewing resulting in the value of John s stock soaring to 97 million overnight The De Rance Foundation thus became the world s largest Catholic charity 2 Harry distributed 10 of his profits to The Roman Catholic Church from DeRance each year Lawsuit EditIn 1984 Erica John and Donald Gallagher both De Rance directors became alarmed at Harry John s increasingly extravagant expenditure of De Rance assets on such things as entire television stations for which John envisioned a 24 hour a day Catholic broadcast network treasure hunts for sunken ships and risky investments in gold futures and junk bonds Mrs John and Gallagher filed a lawsuit along with attorney Tom Cannon in Milwaukee County Circuit Court to have Harry John removed as a De Rance director After a five month trial on August 21 1986 Judge Michael Barron announced that the plaintiffs had proven their allegations Harry John was permanently removed from the De Rance board he divorced Erica and moved to Pacific Palisades California where he resided for the next six years returning to Milwaukee in 1992 Santa Fe Communications EditHarry John s Santa Fe Communications managed the newly acquired television stations into a television network that combined secular programming and Catholic programming 3 The sale of the television stations combined with various legal settlements brought the De Rance Foundation back to where it was before the Catholic television network venture 1 In a new format and in the age of cable television the Santa Fe Communications presently produces and distributes Heart of the Nation a Sunday Catholic Mass broadcast on various cable networks on streaming services such as Youtube as well as online It assists those with disabilities who are unable to go to church The first broadcast was from Los Angeles on Palm Sunday 1984 It presently reaches 156 television markets 2023 It broadcasts the Catholic Mass on the Family Entertainment Television and the Family Movie Classics television networks 4 Death EditOn December 14 1992 John was found unconscious on the floor of his apartment by a neighbor Tom Cannon called an emergency meeting of the De Rance board which voted to dissolve the De Rance Foundation after awarding 30 million in grants to some of John s favorite causes The remaining 70 million was used to create a new charitable organization the Archdiocese of Milwaukee Supporting Fund During the court proceedings Cannon addressing John s wild spending asked John whether De Rance could spend itself out of existence Harry answered I think the directors could give away 100 percent of the foundation with complete propriety 1 John died on December 19 1992 Southern Cross EditIn 1985 John prepared a legal document that would authorize the transfer of De Rance s assets to another organization he had created Southern Cross Inc upon his death In 1993 Southern Cross filed suit in Milwaukee challenging the Archdiocese of Milwaukee Supporting Fund s receipt of the bulk of John s fortune after his death the previous year In particular they alleged that John was kept alive artificially until his family could dispose of De Rance s assets The suit is frivolous said Cannon and is a last minute effort by John s cronies to wrest control of the assets On November 15 1993 the suit was dismissed by Circuit Court Russell J Stamper References Edit a b c Harry John was not your average American Catholic Free Online Library www thefreelibrary com Retrieved 2023 07 27 Kenkelen Bill August 22 1986 Head of Largest Catholic Foundation Ousted The Washington Post Retrieved February 1 2023 Trippett Frank 1986 05 26 Harry John s Holy War Time ISSN 0040 781X Retrieved 2023 07 27 Heart of the Nation About Us The Sunday Mass Heart of the Nation Retrieved 2023 07 27 Sources EditNational Catholic Reporter Vol 29 No 40 September 17 1993 The Milwaukee Journal 12 20 92 11 15 93 John v John 153 Wis 2d 343 450 N W 2nd 795 Ct App 1989 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Harry G John amp oldid 1167564043, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
