As we reflect on events before the Pandemic, I have never forgotten the team of Johnny Sommerville and Lang Smith playing doubles at Rye New York. The teamwork that they developed while playing together at Phillips Exeter made a difference although they did not win that tournament.
Johnny shared with me to go going out on the tennis court in a wheelchair while his granddaughter play from the other side court.
Devotion to family as well as a healthy sport was certainly noteworthy. I hope that future generations in Hawaii and elsewhere are continuing that tradition. Perhaps Hattie can provide a update.

Even four years after Johnny left us I can still appreciate the thought of him suggesting, "Let's volley for serve." Whenever I see mixed doubles being played really well I think of Johnny. I would expect his granddaughter is now headed for national competition. Carrying positive memories forward can make a difference to every generation.

It is two years since Johnny died and reflections regarding tennis continue to come to the surface. While at Phillips Exeter, Johnny had a doubles partner named Langdon Smith. Together they were a powerful duo. Their championship tennis skills took them to Rye New York where they participated in national competition.
Lang went forward in international banking to Denmark while Johnny really settled into the joys of tennis in Hawaii.
How we integrate these reflections into making this a better world is up to us.

Hi,
I was a friend of John and Hattie from 1965-1970.  I first met John playing tennis in a tournament at Ala Moana Park. I had just moved to Hawaii and hadn’t been playing tennis very long, but I was a good athlete and picked it up very quickly.  I guess I had been playing only two years most of it in Southern California.  In 1965 I was 22 years old. I had never played in the type of wind that blew across the courts at Ala Moana and the rough corral surface was slower than the courts I had played on in Southern Cal.  John started lobbing and my game fell apart.  I was getting mad at John for not playing more “manly”. The more I complained the more he lobbed and the more he laughed.  I eventually learned how to hit overheads in the wind, but the best lesson was how to use the conditions to win. 

The last time I saw John and Hattie was at the Mauna Kea when I was visiting after moving back to SoCal.  John and Hattie were wonderful people.  I have fond memories of my time with them in Hawaii.  Hattie was the only woman I ever met that walked as funny as I do. 

Borthwick Kauai Mortuary

John Somerville

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John W. Somerville

17 September, 1935 – 14 June, 2019

Borthwick Kauaʻi Mortuary

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