John Elden Kohler

MAYSVILLE — John Elden Kohler or "Doc", as he was commonly called, was born Oct. 4, 1942, in Rockville, Ind., to Allen A. and Lorraine M. Kohler. The family moved to Maysville, where Allen was minister at First Presbyterian church from 1951-1962.

During High School, he showed a keen interest in electronics, was an amateur radio operator and played the French horn in band. He graduated in 1960 as class valedictorian.

While attending the University of Kentucky, John worked at WFTM, an AM station in Maysville. He received his BS from UK in 1964. After graduating, he taught math briefly at Jessamine County HS. John continued his education by completing his AA in Broadcasting from Eastern Kentucky University in 1972. He started working for WLEX, Lexington's NBC affiliate, in the early 70s, where he proved himself a proficient engineer working many live remotes.

In 1980, he began working for Hammond Productions where he quickly became a key member of its staff. During his tenure at Hammond, he built many relationships and designed several systems that made the company successful. Highlights include creating the master plan for the NCAA Men's and Women's basketball press conference and media support setup, overseeing the technical aspects of at least 25 Kentucky Derby productions, working as lead engineer for several Southeastern Conference championships, many at his home away from home in the Georgia Dome, as well as overseeing the video production of thoroughbred horse sales for Fasig-Tipton.

Over the years, "Doc" has worked at least 60 NCAA Men's and Women's Basketball Tournament sites, including 22 Final Fours. Only one broken ankle: in 2010, while checking the courtside TV setup, UConn Huskies Lorin Dixon and Kelly Faris were racing before practice and accidentally knocked "Doc" to the ground. The Huskies went on to win the National Championship. "Doc" went home on crutches. He was so proud to have received a signed basketball and t-shirt from the team several days later. On his 80th birthday, he received a message from Connecticut Coach Geno Auriemma that said, "You can always look back and say, 'you know what, I've lived 80 years but I've only been run over one time'."

John had nearly six decades of experience as an engineer. In that time he successfully worked with many Hammond clients such as the Southeastern Conference, Fasig-Tipton, NCAA, Churchill Downs, Valvoline, Lexmark, Keeneland, Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders (TOBA), the Breeders' Cup, AK Steel and Eastern Kentucky University.

Many holiday seasons John provided audio/visual recordings for a Methodist church in Maysville; he looked forward to St. Olaf College choral concerts and was a life-long devotee of classical music. He stopped traveling for work in 2014. He continued providing his technical expertise and coordination skills on several productions until he retired from Hammond Communications in July 2024. He continued providing AV services for various clients into the spring of 2025.

John "Doc" Kohler died Aug. 17, 2025. He was 82. He requested no services; cremation through Knox and Brothers Funeral Home, Maysville. He is survived by his brother David Allen Kohler and David's wife, Franki Kohler, of Portland, Ore.

He is remembered warmly by work associates and the clients he served, many of whom considered him family.

Condolences at knoxbrothersfuneralhome.com