John McDougal

1924 - 2016

John W. McDougal, 92, of Oswego, IL passed away Friday, October 28, 2016 at Seasons Hospice of Naperville. He was born March 16, 1924 in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, the son of the late Claude and Annie Rebecca (Cunningham) McDougal. John was the son of an oil well driller who moved from Oklahoma to southern Illinois to follow the oil boom. In southern Illinois, John made his mark as an outstanding football and basketball player at Salem High School.In 1944, his junior season the basketball team of which he was captain, along with teammate Jim Finks, placed 3rd in the State Basketball Tournament. Due to his age, he was not allowed to finish his senior year, but instead was drafted in WWII to be a member of the US Navy and then later to a Marine medic. He trained at Great Lakes Naval Station and served in Hawaii, Japan, and the Peleliu Islands. After the war, he entered Evansville College (now University of Evansville), where he lettered for 3 years as a halfback on the football team. In 1947 the Evansville football team met the NIU Huskies in the Refrigerator Bowl of which he played in. He earned his Bachelor of Science Degree from Evansville and his Masters in Science from the University of Illinois. He began a 40-year basketball coaching career that spanned 5 decades from Palestine, Ill, to Carmi High, Prospect High, then moving to West Aurora High School in 1965. In his High School Coaching Career, he qualified for the Illinois Elite "500" club and ranks among the state's winningest head coaches with 692 combined victories-556 at the high school level. He then was hired to coach at NIU in 1976 following West Aurora's 2nd place finish in the IHSA state tournament. Under his tutelage, his West Aurora 1973 team also placed 3rd place at State. His teams at NIU won 136 games and he helped guide NIU to their first NCAA tournament appearance in 1982. He is still the winningest head basketball coach in NIU history. After 10 seasons at NIU, he became an assistant at Western Michigan University for two seasons. John then became the Head coach at Rockford Lutheran High School, which placed 4th in the State Tournament in 1997. He retired at that time. He is believed to be the only man to coach in both the IHSA 2A and A state tournament finals as well as compete as a student athlete in the state finals. John was blessed with many wonderful players and assistant coaches throughout the years. John was named to the following High School Hall of Fames- Salem, Carmi, West Aurora, and Rockford Lutheran as well as the colleges of Evansville and NIU. He was also inducted into the IBCA Hall of Fame and in 2006, he was voted to the IHSA's Centennial State Tourney "100 Legends" list. John was preceded in death by his parents, sister Sara Clutter, brother Charles, and his beloved wife Betty Anne Meyers. He is survived by his sister Mary Anne Wood, his daughters- Rebecca (David) Hejtmanek of Yorkville, Mary (David) Schroeder of St. Charles, and Nancy (Rob) Prentiss of Batavia. He also leaves behind his 7 cherished grandchildren- Kristin (Matt) Clark, Lindsay Hejtmanek, Jonathan, Michael, and Stefanie Schroeder, Melissa (Eric) Christopherson, and Kimberly Franson as well as 4 great grandchildren- Juliet and Beatrice Clark, Maxton and Amaryllis Christopherson as well as several nieces and nephews. Visitation will be Saturday, November 5, 2016 1:00-8:00 pm at the Healy Chapel, 370 Division Drive, Sugar Grove, IL. Funeral services will be Sunday, November 6, 2016 at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 10 N. Edgelawn, Aurora IL at 1:30 pm. Interment will be private. Donations can be made for a future West Aurora Scholarship in John's name. Please contact Jason Buckley at West Aurora High School for details. For further information, please call 630-466-1330 or visit www.healychapel.com to sign the online guestbook.