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AYHA
John Legut Memorial Page |
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John Legut. Although
John tragically passed away in 1992, he was one of the true inspirations
and forces behind the construction of the indoor arena. For those
of you who never had the pleasure of meeting him, this will give you a
little insight into who he was. |
John was born in Minneapolis on March 29, 1942 and grew up in the Twin Cities. He was previously married with two children & moved to Amery in 1983 to work at NSP (Xcel).
John was an active hockey supporter, and was heavily involved with his son, Tony, hockey from peewee's to HS. His daughter Andrea was a HS statistician.
John was known as "Mr. Iceman". He was the Perfectionist of the outdoor ice. He always knew how to make the BEST ice... the temp & humidity had to be just perfect. It could be 11 pm or 2 am, If that was the "perfect" ice time, he would be there. Because he worked for NSP, he was always next door to the arena. When people were looking for him, they would always find him out checking the ice or running the Zamboni. He also spent a lot of time teaching others what he knew about the ice.
Peggy met John in 1991 at Our Savior's Church where John was council president. Peggy remembers that He was kind & very romantic always giving her roses, He had a persistence of no other. He also believed in helping others, and was an excellent role model for Peggy's son at the ice rink.
Peggy and John were married October 10, 1992 with a private family ceremony at Our Savior's church. They married a second time at the New Richmond Ice Arena. John wanted to be married on the Ice. He even lip sang" My, my, my, what a beautiful day".
Tragically John died one week later on October 17, 1992 while on their honeymoon in Hawaii. He was preceded in death by his parents & previous spouse.
John loved to fish, especially at Lake Mille Lacs. He would occasionally visit the local casino while camping at the Lake. One of John's other hobbies included rebuilding vintage autos. He was an AYHA board member until 1992, and helped to organize the Amery Optimist Club.
Unknown to others, John financially helped some hockey players that could not afford to be in the program, but really wanted to play. He gave to others rather than himself, and this is why to this day we honor the memory of John Legut with a memorial alumni game and scholarship in his name. |
Thanks goes to Peggy Legut for graciously supplying this insight into Johns life.
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Information on
the Annual Legut memorial game |