John Damis

John was one of the nicest persons I had the privilege of working with while I was in The Foreign Service. He was simply one of a kind and even today so many years after his passing, he remains in my thoughts as a friend and colleague I miss.

Sorry I repeated myself in a memory post. All true at any rate.

Johnny lived up the street from me and went to Sabin school. We played football and other sports in YMCA teams at school. In football he was fast and clever and a year younger than others on the team. He was a star at Grant and in the PIL. I admired Johnny, a man of immense self-confidence who radiated this. I did not know of his Harvard and later professional career. I did not see him after 1957 although our interests and careers were similar (comparative studies in different areas of the...

I knew Johnny at Sabin where he played football in Grey-Y and high Y. I watched him.....he was the star running back and we were undefeated over two years. The same was true at Grant. I did not know he went to Harvard -PhD. and back to PSU. I lost touch with him. He was just a guy who lived up the hill and went to Grant. I regret I did not stay in touch. He was a man of quiet dignity and immense talent- I just remember him in those foggy raining days when he carried the ball.

I only recently discovered that he had passed. This makes me very sad, as it is a great loss. I didn't know a lot of details about his life but it was easy to see how special he was. It was an honor to take one if his classes.

Another former PSU student here (mid-'70's, MEast studies), for decades now deeply appreciating his teachings and personal encouragement to go further into the field, which I continue to do.



in one sense or anther...
~we are for god and god who the one who made us so we go back again to him~

Knowing John in Portland and in Shemlan Lebanon, what an amazing athlete and scholar

I took classes from Professor Damis and I feel blessed that I was a student of his from 1985- 1987. I learned so much about the international world of politics. He kept me interested in learning about the Middle East and at some point I almost felt I knew Qadaffi really well as I studied Libya, Algeria, Morocco... In fact, the whole North African Campaign. I contacted Professor Damis in the early 1990's as an alumni, to ask him a question about Libya and he so kindly responded back...

It is with great sadness that I recently learned of the passing of John Damis. I attended Sabin elementary school in Portland with John and also Grant High School. He was always kind, focused, and humble. In high school, we were in a very small class funded by the Ford Foundation, taught by Mr. Wayne Altree, an extraordinary teacher. He had a profound affect on all of us in the class. John contributed a lot to the class, but never sought praise or fame.

My condolences to his wife...