Longtime Napa Valley College coach, teacher and administrator Joe Jennum, Jr., passes away at 83
By Marty James
Napa Valley College
martyjames.sports@gmail.com
NAPA - Joe Jennum Jr., a longtime coach, teacher and administrator at Napa Valley College who is in the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame, died on April 17 at a care facility in Vacaville, his son, Joe Jennum III, said.
Joe Jennum Jr., the first president of the Bay Valley Conference who coached men’s and women’s sports at Napa Valley College, was 83.
“He was battling Parkinson’s (disease) and was in Hospice (care) since early January,” said Joe Jennum III, the Athletic Director and Dean of Kinesiology, Athletics and Dance at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, CA (Los Angeles County).
Family members moved Jennum Jr. from Las Vegas, Nev., where he had been a resident for six years, to Vacaville, in May 2021.
“His (Las) Vegas time started off good. And then his health started to decline. My sisters (Sheri Jennum and CJ Kaialoa) and I drove to Vegas, loaded him up and took him to a care facility (in Vacaville),” Joe Jennum III, said.
Joe Jennum Jr. was at Napa Valley College for 29 years, working there from 1975 to 2003. He was the Storm’s Athletic Director and assistant AD, and was also the division chair for the P.E. department.
“One of the things I’ll be most grateful for is we were able to be with him at the end. That was really important,” said Sheri Jennum, who is in the Napa High School Athletic Hall of Fame and California Community College Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.
Joe Jennum Jr. got his start at NVC coaching the men’s basketball team. He went on to be the head coach for women’s basketball, men’s and women’s golf, softball and track and field teams over the years.
“I think what was hard for my dad, was when he started to lose those physical abilities,” said CJ Kaialoa, the daughter of Joe Jennum Jr. “He’s such a warrior about physical education, and being an educator and a coach, it was very, very difficult for him, when he could no longer do those activities that really brought him joy.”
Joe Jennum Jr. started NVC’s adaptive P.E. program.
He was an instructor for health education, basketball, racquetball and golf classes.
In his last year at NVC, he coached the 2003 men’s golf team to the California Community College Athletic Association state title.
“He really gave his all to Napa Valley College,” said Sheri Jennum. “He shared a lot of stories with us about his time with the staff there. He was really close with a lot of people. I just hope they know that he really loved his time there with them.”
Joe Jennum Jr. left his position as an assistant coach at San Jose State to come to Napa Valley College, taking over as head men’s basketball coach in 1975. In his first year, he led the Storm to its first-ever winning season, as they went 15-12.
“He was a consummate educator,” said Dr. Nadine Wade-Gravett, the Storm’s former Athletic Director, who retired from NVC last year after 41 years. “He was a great mentor to me. I always had the most respect for him. He was just a joy to work with.
“He hired me. He was the Athletic Director when I got hired. He took a chance on me, and I’m forever grateful for that.”
Joe Jennum Jr. and Wade-Gravett worked in the Athletic Department and P.E. Department for years, teaching and coaching and overseeing programs in administrative positions.
“I think he really believed in and fought for physical education and athletics, and was an endless supporter of our student athletes,” said Wade-Gravett, who served as assistant AD, dean of physical education and athletics, dean and founder of the Occupational Education Program, assistant coach for women’s basketball, athletic trainer, and assistant coordinator for physical education.
“What I liked about him is he did everything according to the rules. He was pretty heads up on that. And I learned, that’s the proper way to do things. You just do things the right way. I just appreciated that about him,” added Wade-Gravett, who taught health, P.E., weight training, activity and adaptive P.E. classes, while also overseeing work experience programs. “And then, of course, when he took over our golf team, it was great, because he was able to recruit good golfers. He just had a great sense of how to manage the golf team. That was definitely a plus.”
Joe Jennum Jr. and Wade-Gravett were inducted into the NVC Athletic Hall of Fame with the 2015 Class at a dinner, with ceremonies, at Wedgewood Napa at Kennedy Park.
“He just knew the right thing to say. He knew how to bring out that spark in you,” said CJ Kaialoa. “Individuals who come along like that that are true educators and leaders. Those people are hard to come by.”
Joe Jennum Jr. started the women’s golf program for the Storm. He also resurrected the women’s basketball program, taking over as coach.
“He was a great athlete,” said Joe Jennum III, named as the 2019-2020 Under Armour National Community College Athletics Director of the Year by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics. “Down here in Southern California, as an administrator, people would call me and say, ‘This isn’t the Joe Jennum who coached at (Pasadena City College)?’ I was like, ‘No, that was my dad.’ It was like, ‘Oh, man, he was a great athlete. I played against him.’ And so, without a doubt, there will be people in my circles, even down here in Southern California, who knew of my dad, and knew of the kind of player he was, and certainly his coaching up north and some of the things he did for (Napa Valley College) and also for the Bay Valley Conference.”
In a story in the Napa Valley Register, in 2015, Jennum, a native of Omaha, Neb., said:
“I have been truly blessed throughout my long career in lots of different activities and lots of different sports. I have truly been blessed with great associations and great memories.”
During his years at NVC, Jennum Jr. saw the school change conferences, moving from the Golden Valley Conference to the Camino Norte Conference and to the Bay Valley Conference. The Storm plays in the Big 8 Conference for men’s and women’s golf.
“I think what I remember most about some of my conversations with him is the people he worked with and how important they were and how fond he was of them and the jobs they did,” said Joe Jennum III, a past president for the National Association of Two-Year College Athletics Administrators. “It was pretty tight-knit and they all interacted and hung out with each other. I know that there certainly were times where as an administrator, there were some tough decisions that needed to be made. But for the most part, he had such good relationships with people in the college that were in the department.”
Wade-Gravett was an assistant coach on Jennum’s women’s basketball staff for one season.
“I thought I knew a lot about basketball. And I quickly realized I knew nothing about basketball, compared to his knowledge. When you look at somebody who’s just dedicated their career to it, it was a different story,” she said.
Joe Jennum Jr. is a 1957 graduate of Westside High School in Omaha.
He was in the U.S. Marine Corps for three years.
Jennum was an All-Conference player and a team captain at Cerritos College-Norwalk (1962-64) and Whittier College (1964-66). He was also on the track and field team as a javelin thrower at Whittier.
He graduated in 1966 from Whittier. He majored in history and government. He received his teaching credential and served as the head basketball coach at Los Altos High in Southern California.
Jennum was an assistant for two years at Pasadena City College (1971-73). He got his master’s degree in exercise physiology from San Jose State and was an assistant coach for the Spartans and also the freshman team’s coach for two years (1973-75).
“I really loved the game,” Jennum said in a story in the Napa Valley Register, in 2015. “I wasn’t a very smooth or polished player. I was kind of a nose bleeder guy. I just got in there and mixed it up.”
Joe Jennum III said his dad had a very positive impact and influence on his students.
“I knew he cared about his job. I knew he cared about his family and loved us very much,” Joe Jennum III said. “What I remember about my relationship with my dad, is he was always someone I could certainly call and talk to and get his guidance and perspective on when it came to me trying to better myself in my career.
“He loved Napa Valley College. He was there early on with the college and developing the sports and expanding programs, not only as a coach, but then later on as an administrator.”
Jennum moved to Fort Mohave, Ariz., after retiring from NVC. It was his plan to play golf – lots of golf, traveling all over the country to play golf.
“He was constantly playing golf. One of his goals was to play in every state, at least three rounds of golf. He did that, when he had free time, and when he could find pockets, with spring break and other things. I was able to join him on a few of those trips. I remember just driving, from course to course, with him and talking to him about life and things I can learn and do better. I remember that was some of the fondest times I had of my dad, when we could actually go and play golf together,” Joe Jennum III said.
Joe Jennum Jr. stayed busy with not only playing golf in retirement at Desert Lakes Golf Course, but also teaching golf classes at Mohave Community College, as well as doing substitute teaching at high schools.
He also went to work for his son, Joe Jennum III, coaching the men’s and women’s golf teams at Mt. San Antonio College for a short time.
Sheri Jennum, a resident of San Diego, said she was fortunate to get an early start in basketball from being around her dad in the gym, at practices and games and camps.
“I’m certain that I would not have been as active in athletics if not for my dad, and what he did at the college, taking that program on and building it,” she said. “He had high standards and expectations, and I think that’s something that all of his players responded well to. They loved him for it. He was a great coach.
“I’m grateful that I had a chance to spend as much time at the college as I did, being part of his programs, from the sidelines and watching and growing up in basketball as I did, watching his teams.
It was a good experience. I have very, very fond memories of all of it.”
CJ Kaialoa said the life lessons she took from her dad were not just on the basketball court.
“I think the important thing that we learned, is that it doesn't just stay on the court. Everything that you learn, you take with you beyond that, and you use it in everyday life. It’s that hard work and determination and perseverance. You keep going. Sometimes you get knocked down in life and you’ve got to fight back.”
Napa Valley College’s 2003 state champion men’s golf team was comprised of Jason Anthony, Tim Knight, Ryan Trask, Matt Hulburt, Wes Maughan and Adam Deadrich. The Storm won the CCCAA title at Kings River Golf & Country Club in Kingsburg.
In a Napa Valley Register story, in 2015, Anthony said:
“Coach was like a father figure with us all. It was really a fun time. I’ll never forget the road trips in the van with the guys and coach.
“When we won state, he definitely got a little emotional. It was a pretty cool moment. It meant the world to him to win that.