Unable to locate obituary, but this is what I was able to find out:
John Francis Tierney died on Good Friday, 2020, at age 84. John, and his wife Judy, lived in Frankfurt, IL. However, he mostly lived and coached in Homewood, Illinois.
John is survived by his wife Judy, daughter Jill, and sons Steve, Scott, Mark. (All sons played Div 1 basketball.)
Picture of 1951-52 Lawler Boys’ Basketball Team of which John was a member. Note: you can click on the picture a couple times to enlarge it.
Also, see comment section below and feel free to add if you like.
When John played in the early 1950s I was in second grade. Basketball was King when the Lawler Fighting Irish played and he was our version of Michael Jordan! Thanks for the memories, JFT.
As a youngster and still living in an apartment in Lawler High School I knew John Tierney fairly well. Anytime of the year John might see me and say lets play some basketball in the
gym. I would open the door on the North side of the school and John and I would shoot baskets. I was about 9 years of age when this started. Often we would play a game of 21. John would spot me 15 points, sometimes 18 points. He would shoot first and you shot until you missed. Many times his score would be in the twenties before I would shoot. It was a lesson in humility at an early age for me. – – My brother Tom & I would at times go to the Martin residence and rebound while John stood on their roof and tried to make baskets on their outdoor court. – Besides being a pure shooter, John was a great image many young players from Lawler aspired to be like. Rest in peace my good friend.