1939-2020 John Joly passed away March 1, 2020. Born in Detroit in 1939, he was the second-youngest of eight children of Louis and Gertrude Joly. He spent most of his life in the newspaper business, a career that began with a Detroit News paper route. After high school, he followed his father's footsteps and became a union printer and learned to operate a Linotype machine. His newspaper and college career was interrupted when he was drafted into the U.S. Army and stationed in France. Thanks to the GI Bill, he earned a B.A. in Journalism at the University of Detroit where he wrote features and a weekly humor column, "Ham on Wry" for the Varsity News. While there, he worked as a printer and then as a copywriter in the Detroit Free Press promotion department. After a short stint as a weekly newspaper publisher in Western Michigan, he began a 10-year career in marketing at The Miami Herald. In 1976, John became the marketing director of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and a corporate marketing consultant for Hearst and other newspaper groups. John was a member of Seattle Rotary, the Washington Athletic Club and was an active supporter of school literacy programs, Snohomish County American Red Cross and Seattle United Way. He was president of City Club and Marketing Communications Executives Club. He met his wife Judy Vielhaber, a nurse, in Ann Arbor. They were married 52 years and have three children, Jennifer (Jason Hellberg), Jim (Whitney) and Janine (Peter Dykstra) and five delightful grandchildren: Lucas, Matthew and Patrick Hellberg, and Ruby and Adam Dykstra. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated in memory of John on Saturday, March 14, 2020 at 10:30 am at St. James Cathedral, 804 9th Avenue, Seattle 98104. Remembrances may be made to Catholic Community Services of Western Washington, 100 23rd Ave S., Seattle, WA 98144. Hoffner Fisher & Harvey Guestbook at: harveyfuneral.com

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by The Herald (Everett) on Mar. 8, 2020.

Memories and Condolences
for John Joly

11 Entries

March 16, 2020

miss you

Roger Oglesby

March 13, 2020

Pilots have a saying: You'll always be OK up there as long as you don't run out of altitude, airspeed and ideas at the same time. In a way, that speaks to at least part of who John was. Always the essence of optimism, flying high, never letting circumstances get him down, no matter how bad things got. Airspeed? John was always a step ahead of those around him, moving at a pace most everyone had trouble keeping up with, charging ahead in the face of whatever the challenge might be, large or small. Strikes, financial crises, JOA lawsuits? Don't worry we'll figure it out full speed ahead. Ideas? He was a fount of ideas. They never stopped flowing. Good ideas. Useful ideas. Ideas that worked. Ideas that achieved a purpose. But in truth, one old saying among pilots does not begin to capture who he was. John was a one off. He was simply a joy to be around. The life of the party. Bright and clever and well read. He knew his stuff. He cared about people, and as a result they cared about him. He cared especially about his family. That was evident in any conversation with him of more than five minutes. He worked hard to build a good life for his family, and he took great joy in every moment he was able to spend with every member of the Joly clan and he felt tremendous pride in the accomplishments of each one of them. Maybe there are others like him out there in the world, but without doubt there are far too few John Jolys. I feel truly privileged to have called this one my friend.

Eternal Affection Arrangement- BASKET INCLUDED

a loved one

Sent Flowers

Harry Grandstrom

March 8, 2020

John and I followed one another as Presidents of Seattle's City Club. I also had the opportunity to work with John on several community events. John was dedicated, resourceful and could always brighten up a room with his humor and wit. John, you left your mark and you made the world a better place. Rest in peace my friend.

a loved one

Sent Flowers

Neal Pattison

March 5, 2020

John was a source of unquenchable enthusiasm and zany good humor for all of us who worked along side him at the P-I. In recent years, I enjoyed seeing him at Everett and Bothell charitable events ... and I think I almost recruited him for a Herald motor route. (He said it would be his dream job.)
John leaves the world a happier place.

John and Jim Joly at Seattle MCEI dinner.

Dave Sharp

March 5, 2020

John was a Seattle Advertising/Marketing icon...and a good friend.
I first met John in 1978 when he was the Marketing Director at the Seattle Post Intelligencer. Over the years we worked on many projects together including the Woodland Park Save our Elephants campaign and PI News for Kids. He always had a smile, bad joke or funny story to share. Every memory I have of him is filled with laughter and kindness.
Rest in Peace John. You will be missed.

jane Wallace

March 5, 2020

John was my client when he was at the Seattle PI and buying promotional products. Definitely one of my favorites. Funny, smart and sweet. The world needs more people like him.

Diane Zawacki

March 5, 2020

Uncle Jerry was everyone's favorite. He always had a beautiful smile and sweet stories to tell. I pray Uncle Jerry rests in God's loving arms. I pray for strength for my dear favorite Aunt Judy, Jeanine, Jim, and Jennifer. Showers of love, hugs, and blessings to you. I wish we could be there with you in person. Please do know we are there in spirit. Live, Diane, Ron, Andrea, Ashley, and Christina.

Joe Frederickson

March 4, 2020

In April of 1978, John Joly plucked me from a dead end job with a press association in downstate Illinois to become the promotion manager of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. I had met John three years earlier in a hospitality suite at a conference in Mexico City, where he was wearing a sombrero and clearly enjoying himself. It didn't take long to understand that I had affiliated myself with a bona fide force field. As marketing director, he was charged with positioning and promoting a newspaper that was in abysmally poor financial shape and with never-ending changes from the high command handed to him every couple of weeks. He sorted that out well, but time caught up with that venerable newspaper. The owners, the Hearst Corp., announced in January of 1981 they intended to have The P-I enter into a joint operating agreement with The Seattle Times. Stania and I were on our first road trip ever and I called the office after about a week, completely oblivious to the news that would cost 350 of us our jobs. John got on the phone and asked "where are you?" I told him I was in a rest stop at the south end of the Golden Gate Bridge. John then said "drive to the middle and call me back." That crack typified the sense of humor that was enjoyed by so many over so many years by this man who believed in his heart that he did his best work on deadline. For example, we were booked for a Monday morning as a two-podium act at a conference in Atlanta in 1981 and my role was to build the slides and write half of the script. John finished his other half of that script late on the Sunday before our 9 a.m. scheduled slot on Monday. That meant I literally stayed up until 3 a.m. integrating our scripts and marking slide cues for the projection operator. He stepped up to that podium unfazed. Those anecdotes aside, I'll always be grateful to the man who gave me my first big-league newspaper marketing experience and I learned so much from him it is just incalculable. Thank you, Chief. You taught us well and you made your indelible mark on the Seattle marketing scene, earning the respect of the many who will miss you with the fondness I have felt for years but probably not the depth of sadness I am feeling now. Rest in peace, you good man.

Jeannine Lupton

March 4, 2020

I enjoyed working with John Joly when I did public relations for the US Labor Dept. John was at the Seattle P. I. so our paths crossed working on various projects. He was a good man. May John Rest In Peace

Showing 1 - 11 of 11 results