A Hall of Fame Utah high school football coach has died. John Colosimo set records and changed lives.

When Juan Diego Catholic High School opened in 1999, principal Galey Colosimo hired his brother, John Colosimo, as his vice principal.

Galey had an early favor he hoped John could fulfill.

“He wasn’t going to coach football,” Galey said. “What we realized was that we just needed coaches. I asked John, ‘Can you just do it for a year or two?’”

John had previously coached football at Judge Memorial from 1985 to 1996, so he agreed to this short stint on the sideline. What he didn’t know, though, was that it would turn into a legendary 18-year career.

It is one he is now fondly remembered as family, friends, students and colleagues mourn his death. John died this week from complications due to Parkinson’s Disease. He was 69 years old.

As the founding vice principal and head football coach at Juan Diego, John helped establish the Skaggs Catholic Center with the mission to empower students to become “active Christians, motivated learners and responsible citizens.”

He led the school’s football team for 17 years (from 2002 until his retirement in 2019). Between the two schools (including Judge Memorial), John appeared in 10 state championship title games and won eight (including two 3-peats) and earned 17 region championships (12 of which were consecutive). John’s cumulative 235 victories make him the fourth-winningest coach in Utah history. His 81% winning percentage is the highest rate of any school in any state history.

John’s younger brother, Joe, said he coached with him for 32 years.

“The best. He was the best,” Joe said. “Every player would think John was tough but fair. He was demanding with the kids, and he put them to the test. They knew he loved them, and he was fair.”

John’s son, Gabe, played four years of football under his dad while a student at JDCHS. He laughed, thinking about the ways John used to motivate the team and get the room going.

“This just kind of shows the wit my dad had. He called one of the teams the ‘Wizard of Oz Team.’ No heart, no brain, no courage,” Gabe said. “I don’t know where he thought of all those things.”

John’s work earned him a place in the National High School Football Hall of Fame in 2014 and the Utah Sports Hall of Fame in 2023. JDCHS honored him that same year by naming the school’s football field “John Colosimo Field at Soaring Eagle Stadium.”

Rob Cuff, who is the executive director of the Utah High School Activities Association, has been in the position for 16 years and got to know John over that time.

“I think the first thing that people understand about John is not only was he an outstanding football coach and coach in general — because he also coached basketball, too — but he was an outstanding person,” Cuff said. “You would label him as a players’ coach. Somebody who you would go through a brick wall for. Somebody that you would give your heart for. You did that because he was willing to do that.”

Cuff remembers John’s coaching style as an “old-school and offensive” approach with a “powerful and strong” defense. But the athletes gained more than just game plans from Colosimo.

“John was a teacher first. Even though he was a coach, he was also a teacher. He taught about life,” Cuff said. “His faith was his foundation and his base to everything that he did and the outlook that he looked at life with. He was one that was full of endurance, hard work, full of faith. I think that carried over to his coaching.”

During the football team’s inaugural season in 2002, John started the post-game Rosary tradition. Following every game, player coaches, parents and fans gather in the Grotto of Our Lady of Guadalupe to pray together.

“I think that’s the big thing that spoke to who he was. Win, loss, it didn’t matter. We’d get home from a five-hour bus ride and it is 2 a.m. and we’d all climb out of the bus, wake up all the teammates, and gather and pray,” Gabe said. “It made it so that it was greater than football. It was building a team. In those moments, he would always share a little piece of wisdom.”

While John crafted dominance on the football field for JDCHS, he also developed the school’s academic infrastructure, which led to national recognition as a U.S. Department of Education National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence in 2019.

“As great as he was as a coach, he was really foundational for our academic strength,” Galey said. “The accolades come from the popularity of football, but equal to that was his day job. He was helping to build this academic foundation at Juan Diego that is second to none.”

That impact was seen through students who had nothing to do with the football team.

Emily Kasue attended JDCHS from 2012-18 and was placed in John’s mentor group during her senior year, which was the school’s version of homeroom.

Kasue reflected on a day in high school when all of her responsibilities became overwhelming. She was a peer mentor, ambassador, cheerleader and lacrosse player. Kasue was trying to study for her AP classes when she was asked to give a tour for the ambassador program.

“This specific day, I just was not feeling it. I started crying,” Kasue said. “I remember, because I was having such a rough time, Mr. Colosimo opened up his office, and he just let me sit in there the entire time. I just got to sit in his office and chill out. That meant everything to me.”

John talked to the ambassador program for Kasue that day and continued to be a source of support for her even after she moved on to college at Seattle Pacific University, where Gabe also went.

“He said, ‘If you need anything, please let me know. And make sure you remember my son Gabe is there, so if you need anything, just reach out to him,’” Kasue said. “I remember my freshman year, every single time Gabe saw me, he would help me out. He was just so kind. And I didn’t realize that Mr. Colosimo had really specifically talked to Gabe and told him I was going to his school and to watch out for me. It was really sweet to see.”

John battled hard at the end of his life, his family said, after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s around 2010. His wife, Kathie, was by his side the entire time.

“You talk about how tough football players are – Kathie was one tough wife and mother,” Joe said. “She had to shoulder the burden of helping John through this really unbelievably painful death.”

Gabe said the outpouring of support they have received from the DJCHS community and beyond has been “surreal.” People he has not heard from in 10 years have sent in notes and stories about his father.

“When I think of my dad, I think of the heart he displayed throughout his life,” Gabe said. “My dad loved an underdog and was always looking out for the people who were maybe outcasts or unspoken. He just had such a soft spot for people.”

That legacy remains for all of those who knew John.

“I think he is going to be most remembered for his love and his patience and his generosity. He is one of the most generous men I have ever met at the school. Literally just so nice,” Kasue said. “I think he will be remembered for his spirit. And being truly just a good servant of the Lord. He embodied that in everything he did.”

Information about funeral services for John will be forthcoming and shared via the school’s social media accounts.