Obituary of Harry Howard Colehower
Newspaper: The Philadelphia Inquirer (PA)Published Date: 5 Feb 1986
H. HOWARD COLEHOWER
H. Howard Colehower, 75, founder and retired chairman of the board of Jomac Inc., died Monday at Abington Memorial Hospital. He lived in Rydal and spent his summers in Beach Haven, N.J.
The idea that led to formation of Jomac, which has its headquarters in Warrington, came to Mr. Colehower in 1935. Convinced of its worth, he gambled his time, his bank account - $100 - and all the credit he could line up on the business.
He made Jomac a leader in production of roller fabrics for lithographers, in production of industrial gloves for chemical, welding, oil and metal- working industries, and in production of protective garments.
The company now has plants in Warminster, Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles, Montreal and Toronto, and it has licensing agreements in Britain, Italy, New Zealand and Brazil.
A native of Philadelphia, he was a graduate of Northeast High School and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
At Penn, he played football and lacrosse. In a way, his days on the playing field had something to do with his success. He played the line in football, achieving all-East honors in 1931. In 1932, he was an all-American. He played in the North-South football all-star game and on the U.S. Olympic lacrosse team.
It was in his senior year, in a football game against Notre Dame, that he was blindsided, and his knee buckled. He wound up wearing a brace when he returned after graduation to work as line coach with the freshman team.
He took a job with a printing-roller company. He spent his time standing on his bad leg, stripping down rollers and recoating them for reuse.
One day the ease of slipping on his brace came to mind. Why not a fabric cover for the roller. Slip it on, slip it off. Why strip and clean it each time?
He tried the idea and it worked. He perfected it and in 1938, Jomac was born out of the former C. Walker Jones Co. in the city's Germantown section. He secured a patent for his knitted sleeve. About 500 employees are now on the payroll.
Mr. Colehower served with the Navy during World War II. After the war, he retained his interest in the sea. He enjoyed deep-sea fishing out of Beach Haven, N.J., and, in 1957, he became commodore of the Little Egg Harbor Yacht Club.
His interests were widespread. He was former president of the Moreland Corp. and vice president of the John T. Bennett Co. He was a trustee of Abington Memorial Hospital, a member of the board of the Philadelphia Textile Manufacturers Association and president of the Work Glove Manufacturers Association.
He was honored by Sports Illustrated as recipient of the magazine's Silver Anniversary Award in 1957, he received Penn's Varsity Club Award of Merit in 1964.
He was a member of the Huntingdon Valley Country Club, the Union League, St. John's Church in Huntingdon Valley and Holy Innocents Church in Beach Haven.
Surviving are his sons, William, Howard and Roger, and 10 grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at 11:30 a.m. Saturday at St. John's Episcopal Church, Washington Lane and Old Welsh Road, Huntingdon Valley. Contributions in his name may be sent to Abington Memorial Hospital I.C.U., Abington, Pa. 19001, or to the church.
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