Harry G. John

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Harry G. John (1919-1992) was an American philanthropist and heir to the Miller Brewing Company fortune through his grandfather, Frederick Miller.

Contents 1 Early years 2 De Rance Corporation 3 Lawsuit 4 Death 5 Southern Cross 6 Sources

[edit] Early years

John was born in 1919 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His mother, Elise John, was one of two daughters of brewery founder Frederick Miller. John attended Notre Dame University, and was president of Miller Brewey from 1946 to 1947. He married Erica Nowotny in 1956; the couple had nine children.

[edit] De Rance Corporation

In the early 1950's, John, a devout Catholic, utilized his inheritance - Miller stock valued at $14 million - to found the De Rance Corporation, which he named after Armand Jean le Bouthillier de Rance, the 17th-century abbot of the monastery at La Trappe, France. In 1972, Phillip Morris bought Miller Brewing, resulting in John's stock soaring to $97 million overnight. The De Rance Corporation thus became the world's largest Catholic charity.

[edit] Lawsuit

In 1984, Erica John, a De Rance director, had become alarmed at her husband's increasingly extravagant expenditure of De Rance assets on such things as entire television stations (for which John envisioned a 24-hour-a-day Catholic broadcast network), treasure hunts for sunken ships, and risky investments in gold futures and junk bonds. She filed a lawsuit along with attorney Tom Cannon in Milwaukee County Circuit Court to have John removed as a De Rance director. After a five-month trial, on August 21, 1986, Judge Michael Barron announced that the plaintiffs had proven their allegations. John was permanently removed from the De Rance board; he and Erica divorced, and he moved to California where he resided for the next six years, returning to Milwaukee in 1992.

[edit] Death

On December 14, 1992, John was found unconscious on the floor of his apartment by a neighbor. He was rushed to Elmbrook Memorial Hospital in Brookfield, Wisconsin, where he was found to have suffered a massive stroke. Upon hearing of John's condition, Tom Cannon called an emergency meeting of the De Rance board. In a controversial move, the board voted to dissolve the De Rance Corportation after awarding $30 million in grants to some of John's favorite causes. The remaining $70 million was used to create a new charitable organization, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee Supporting Fund.

John died on December 19, 1992, with Erica at his side.

[edit] Southern Cross

In 1985, John had prepared a legal document which would authorize the transfer of De Rance's assets to another organization he had created, Southern Cross, Inc., upon his death. In 1993, Southern Cross filed suit in Milwaukee, challenging the Archdiocese of Milwaukee Supporting Fund's receipt of the bulk of John's fortune after his death the previous year. In particular, they alleged that John was kept alive artificially until his family could dispose of De Rance's assets. However, on November 15, 1993, the suit was dismissed by Circuit Court Judge William J. Haese.

[edit] Sources

• National Catholic Reporter, Vol. 29, No. 40: September 17, 1993.

• The Milwaukee Journal, 12/20/92, 11/15/93.