News

Saluting Wallingford-Swarthmore’s music man

By Delaware County Times Editorial Board

Taxes in the Wallingford-Swarthmore School District are slated to go up 3 percent next year.

It will be worth every penny if kids can continue to be exposed to teachers like Jack Hontz.

The Wallingford Swarthmore community was stunned Friday to learn that the longtime school district music director died after suffering a heart attack.

Very few people had as big an effect on the district as Jack Hontz.

He spent 34 years in Wallingford-Swarthmore, arriving in 1992 fresh out of West Chester University with the mission of launching a marching band.

Hontz did more than that. He established a rare rapport with students, parents and the community.

That’s not to say he was not successful in his original mission. Today the Strath Haven High School marching band is one of the best in the state, a homage not only to Hontz’s love of music, but his love for the Wallingford-Swarthmore School District as well.

(click on this link for the full article)

Funeral service details for Jack Hontz

Havenfootball.net Staff

The following is the announcement made by SHHS Principal MaryJo Yannacone regarding funeral services for Mr. Hontz:

Visitation

Friday, June 30, 2017 1:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Strath Haven High School

205 South Providence Road

Wallingford, PA 19086

Funeral

Saturday, July 1, 2017 10:00 a.m. (luncheon to follow at the church)

Grove United Methodist Church

490 Boot Road

West Chester, PA 19380

(click on this link for more information regarding memorials)

Obituary

Interview with Jack Hontz 2008

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By Havenfootball.net Staff

All of us here at Havenfootball.net are heartbroken.  Jack’s passing has hit all of us in the Haven community so hard.  We at Havenfootball.net wanted to do something in Jack’s memory and we remembered that Jack was one of our first interviews for our broadcast half-time show.  It was a great 6 and a half minute interview and really gave Jack a chance to talk about his program.  Simply press the arrow key in the player at the top of this post.

We could think of no better way to memorialize Mr. Hontz than to let him speak for himself!

A Tribute to Jack Hontz

By Pat Clancy, Teacher and Asst. Football Coach, SHHS

When your principal calls you at 8:00 PM on a Friday night in the summer to ask for your father’s phone number, you know it’s probably not good news. Like many of my colleagues, I was shocked and saddened to learn of Jack Hontz’s sudden passing yesterday. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family today.

Over the coming days, we will hear countless testimonies of Jack’s contribution to the Strath Haven music community. The staggering numbers of students qualifying for PMEA all-region and all-state, as well as the numerous music teachers and band leaders he inspired over the years speaks to the strength of the music department he built. I want to approach his legacy from a different angle though.

At Strath Haven, we take pride in our students success in the three A’s – Academics, Arts, and Athletics. Jack Hontz was an integral part of melding these branches together.

(click on this link for the full article)

Wallingford-Swarthmore mourns beloved music director Jack Hontz

By Neil H. Sheehan

Tributes began pouring in Friday as soon as word spread that Jack Hontz, the longtime inspirational founder and director of Strath Haven High School’s marching band, had died.

Hontz, who was also supervisor of the Wallingford-Swarthmore School District’s K-12 music program, passed away suddenly Friday afternoon after suffering a heart attack.

“Despite our collective grief over a such a tremendous loss, we have a sense of gratitude for being part of a school community that included a man who was so generous of his time and talents, so compassionate in his leadership of students and staff, and so dedicated and warm in supporting our entire student body,” said MaryJo Yannacone, the high school’s principal, wrote in a note to the community Friday night.

“Jack served a vital role at Strath Haven High School and indeed, across the Wallingford-Swarthmore community. He was a mentor, friend, colleague and inspiration to us all, and in him, we witnessed the very best a person can be.”

(click on this link for the full article)

Jack Hontz, SHHS Band Director, has passed away

Jack Hontz, with the band that he loved. Photo by Bob Quinn

By Havenfootball.net Staff

It is with deep sorrow that we announce the sudden passing of our legendary band director, Jack Hontz.  He believed that anyone who was willing to hold an instrument and make an effort could play in his band.  He took tremendous pride in the fact that Strath Haven took the home team advantage wherever they went.  We have broadcast well over 100 games and no matter how the Panthers did no one ever had a better band than Haven!

Strath Haven High School Principal MaryJo Yannacone released this email late this evening:

Dear Parents, Staff, and Students of the WSSD Community,

The Strath Haven High School community has suffered a devastating loss today.  Mr. Jack Hontz, the man who built our music program and led our students for 34 years, passed away suddenly from a heart attack this afternoon. Despite our collective grief over a such a tremendous loss, we have a sense of gratitude for being part of a school community that included a man who was so generous of his time and talents, so compassionate in his leadership of students and staff, and so dedicated and warm in supporting our entire student body. 

Jack served a vital role at Strath Haven High School and indeed, across the Wallingford-Swarthmore community.  He was a mentor, friend, colleague and inspiration to us all, and in him, we witnessed the very best a person can be. 

Jack’s family is extremely appreciative of the entire school community. His wife Cindy, and children Jack, David, Matthew, and Emily will need all our love and support in the coming days.  We will share information about Jack’s service and ways our community can support Jack’s family and each other early next week.

Mr. Shankweiler and Mr. Pearlberg believe that Jack would have wanted our district’s children to continue to learn and develop a love for music. As a result, our Summer Band and String School will continue as scheduled on Monday.  

For members of our school community, including alumni, the high school will be open on Saturday from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. Counselors and staff will be here to share in your grief and to provide support. Times for additional support will be identified and communicated to the school community.

Sincerely,

MaryJo Yannacone, Ed.D.

2017 Season turnover

By Havenfootball.net Staff

The 2016 football season is long over and, as hard as this is to believe, the first game of the 2017 season is less than 70 days away!

We will be changing over to the 2017 season on July 1st.  That means that our rosters, game schedules, cheerleader and band pages will all be re-set for the new season.  If there are screen shots that you would like to take please make sure you complete them before July 1st.

All the posted articles will continue to be available on “Latest News & Articles” or “Archives” at the bottom of this page.

A quick note on our game archives.  Our broadcast provider, EZStream.com is closing their doors.  We are in the midst of replacing their services.  They have assured us that they will not erase our game archives (from 2006) and we are currently looking at several ways of making them available.  The archive current availability appears a little spotty but we hope to have this whole situation resolved by August.

A note on archived articles

By Havenfootball.net Staff

Just a quick note to our readers about the articles that appear on our web page.  Our home page, the one you are viewing now, can only accommodate a fixed amount of “posts”.  As the season gets more involved the articles will appear, move down the page, and then vanish from the home page.  All posts, however, are stored in our archives.  At the bottom right hand side of this home page is our Archives listing.  It is listed by month.  Simply click on the month you believe the article originally appeared and a list of the articles posted will appear along with the first few lines.  Click on the headline and you’ll get the article, photos and appropriate links.  Enjoy!