John Lysak

John Lysak was born in New Jersey. When his mother died in the 1918 flu pandemic, his father sent him and his brother, Steve, to an orphanage as he was unable to raise the children by himself. The brothers began rowing in the Hudson River with homemade boats. Competing for Yonkers Canoe Club, he won one national championship in the C-4 event in 1939, accompanied by his brother. After the 1936 Olympics he graduated from Springfield College where he met his wife, June. He also served with the Marines in World War II. He later became a painting contractor in the San Francisco area.