John Joseph Macionis, 95; sales exec was Olympic swimmer

John Joseph Macionis, 95, formerly of Elkins Park, a retired sales executive and swimmer who won a silver medal at the Berlin Olympics when he was 20 and went on to win medals in his 60s, died Thursday, Feb. 16, at the Colonnades, a retirement community in Charlottesville, Va.

Mr. Macionis graduated in 1933 from Central High School, where he captained the swim team and set a 220-yard freestyle scholastic record.

As a youth, he also swam for the Germantown YMCA and for the Big Brothers Swimming Association at AAU events. At one event, he caught the eye of Mercersburg Academy swimming coach John Miller. Miller arranged a scholarship to Mercersburg for Mr. Macionis, the son of working-class Lithuanian immigrants.

At the prep school, he set a scholastic record for the 440-yard freestyle in 1934. He later told Mercersburg Academy Magazine that he spent the year doing nothing but swimming and studying and was recruited by Yale University.

He was on a Yale team that set an American record in the one-mile relay and broke school records for freestyle, individual medley, and 220-yard breaststroke.

In 1936, he became the first Yale swimmer to compete in the Olympic Games. He won a silver medal at the Games in Berlin in a freestyle relay event.

Returning to Yale, he captained the swim team in his senior year and graduated in 1938.

During World War II, Mr. Macionis served in the Coast Guard in Cape May and in Italy. In 1942, his photograph appeared on a patriotic poster with a quotation from John Adams, "Swim or sink, survive or perish with my country."

After his discharge, Mr. Macionis worked in sales for Campbell Soup Co. and other area companies. He was vice president of sales for Shearer's Dairies in Philadelphia in the early 1960s and then was vice president of sales for Chestnut Hill Dairy, a distributor of Johanna Farms products in Pennsylvania. He retired in the mid-1980s but continued to work as a consultant for 10 years.

Mr. Macionis stayed involved with swimming as an official at high school and college swim meets for 50 years.

In the 1970s, when his son Robert chided him that he was getting fat, Mr. Macionis decided to get back in the swim. In 1978, he became a competitor in masters events for senior swimmers, and in 1981, he set two world records in freestyle events in masters competitions in the 65-to-69 age group.

In 1982, at the National Masters Sports Festival at the University of Pennsylvania, Mr. Macionis broke five masters world records in his age group.

He had slimmed down from 220 pounds to 165 pounds in four years.

Mr. Macionis continued to compete in swimming events into his 80s and swam every day until his early 90s.

He was a member of the Pennsylvania Swimming Hall of Fame and the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.

He never forgot the support he received as a youth, his son John said. Over the years, he devoted time and energy to mentoring the children of clients and friends, helping them with their athletic careers as well as preparing them for college, John Macionis said.

In addition to his sons, Mr. Macionis is survived by his wife of 69 years, May Johnston Macionis; four grandchildren; and one great-granddaughter.

Mr. Macionis donated his body to science. No service was scheduled.

Donations may be made to the Lake George Land Conservancy, Box 1250, Bolton Landing, N.Y. 12814.