|
John
wears the t-shirt his sister gave
him for his 80th birthday.
John
(number 53) winning the 1968 World
Games in Stockholm.
John
was a fifteen-time collegiate
All-American runner for Ft. Hays
State. |
John
Mason beat polio when he was 11, he
ran a sub-4 mile when he was 23, and
he beat cancer when he was 80.
The Phillipsburg man was diagnosed
with an aggressive form of bladder
cancer in May of ’25. If he chose
not to treat it, his doctor said he
would have 3 months to live.
But John is a fighter, so he chose
to battle. His doctors removed the
diseased bladder and put in a new
one, a “neobladder.” “They replumbed
me,” he joked.
He underwent 6 months of
chemotherapy and immunotherapy in
Kansas City at the KU Medical
Center, making the 300 mile trip
from home to Kansas City numerous
times.
But his story is so much more than
cancer.
As a kid, he had polio, and to
recover, his dad suggested he run.
So he did, and found out he loved
it.
At Ft. Hays (Kansas) State
University, he was a fifteen-time
collegiate All-American runner,
wining nine collegiate
championships. In 1968, he was the
U.S. Champion in the 1500 meter and
cross-country, a cross-country
record he held for 21 years. He won
the World Games in Stockholm,
Sweden, and won numerous other races
around the globe: from Europe to
Southeast Asia, Russia, Canada, and
at home in the U.S.
He retired from running in 1971, due
to knee injuries, and began work as
a hot tub salesman.
After retiring from that work in
2009, he began work as a custodian
at Phillipsburg High School.
He loved it. “If it wasn’t for
cancer, I’d still be there. I loved
the kids so much.”
John always had a Jolly Rancher and
a listening ear for all the
students. He was always willing to
listen. “I think I helped a lot of
kids. They could talk to me.”
John received funding from the rodeo
through Hope in the Heartland, an
organization that distributes the
monies raised by the rodeo’s Tough
Enough to Wear Pink night. Each
year, the rodeo raises money on its
first night, this year July 30. For
every fan wearing pink to the rodeo,
$1 is donated by the Phillipsburg
Rodeo Association to Hope in the
Heartland.
Eight local businesses and
organizations match the rodeo’s
donation: A&A Coors, Amber Wave, B&B
Redimix Inc., Blossoms and
Butterflies, Farmers State Bank, W.B.
DesJardins Fund, Rodgers and
Associates and Witmer Drug.
The money was welcome, John said. It
paid for fuel to drive to and from
the hospital, and other expenses.
For his 80th birthday, his sister
made a t-shirt for him that reads:
“I beat polio, cancer, and the
4-minute mile. Going strong since
1945.”
And John is still going strong. |
