John W. Harrigan with wife Mimi
Join us in celebrating the life of longtime Society of Seniors Executive Secretary and Executive Director John Harrigan, who passed away at his home in Boynton Beach, Fla., on November 15 at the age of 93.
Harrigan devoted more than 15 years to guiding the Society of Seniors through a period of rapid expansion. Known affectionately as “The Judge,” he not only provided the administrative backbone the organization needed but also possessed plenty of game himself. Upon his retirement in 2015, he was named a lifetime member in recognition of his impact both on and off the course.
Past president Yancey Ford (2003–2009) reflected on Harrigan’s early years with the organization and the steady growth that followed.
“When John first started, the SOS only had two golf tournaments, then experienced significant growth in membership and more tournaments occurred during his tenure,” Ford recalled. “John was always looking out for the members and ways of adding money to the prize pool if the event was running a surplus prior to technology forecasting days. He believed in giving back to the membership.”
Past president Mark Mulvoy (2009–2015) echoed that admiration, emphasizing Harrigan’s stewardship during pivotal years for the Society.
“There’s a Society of Seniors today only because John Harrigan devotedly pinched pennies and single-handedly kept it alive and well for almost 25 years,” Mulvoy said. “And for that he earned the respect of generations of senior golfers.”
Harrigan’s dedication, resourcefulness, and care for the membership have left a lasting mark on the Society of Seniors. His legacy lives on in the organization he helped shape and strengthen for future generations.
Click Here for Minnesota Golf Association Article (by Warren Ryan)
Originally from Waterloo, Iowa, Harrigan graduated from Stillwater High School and spent his summers caddying at the Stillwater Country Club and the White Bear Yacht Club. He played on the University of St. Thomas golf team from 1951 to 1954, after which he served a three-year stint in the U.S. Army.
He completed his J.D. degree from the University of Minnesota in 1959 and spent the next 38 years in general practice rising to managing partner of the Lowry-Hill firm. During his legal career he also served as an administrative law judge and arbitrator-mediator.
Aside from his competitive talents – he qualified for the 1992 U.S. Senior Amateur Championship at the Loxahatchee Club in Jupiter, Fla., — Harrigan also participated in the administrative side of the game played mainly outside of the ropes.
“I realized very early in my golf career that I owed a lot to the game. Warren Rebholz [then MGA executive director] got me started back in the 1980s, when I was elected to the MGA’s Board of Directors. I also got involved with the State Public Links Association [MPGA], and for six years I was working with the Florida Golf Association too,” Harrigan was quoted in a magazine profile appearing in the Minnesota Golfer in 2011.
After a seasonal move to Florida, Harrigan would serve another six years on the FSGA board.
In 1987 Harrigan won the MGA Senior Amateur Four-Ball championship with partner Bill Feehan. That same year he joined the American Society of Seniors eventually being named its executive secretary in 1999. In 2013 he was named by Golfweek as its Yancy Ford Award winner, for individuals who have made significant contributions to senior amateur golf.
In addition to his contributions at the state level, Harrigan served on the USGA’s Senior Amateur committee, from 2004 to 2011. Harrigan is pre-deceased by his wife, Mimi Villaume, and brother Tom. He is survived by three children, Anne, Michael and Steven; three grandchildren, Erin, John J. and Sophia and ex-wife Eleanor Hendrickson. He is also survived by three step children and six step grandchildren. No services are planned. Memorials can be sent to the Evans Scholars Foundation, care of the Western Golf Association.
Click Here for Full Obituary from the Minnesota Star Tribune
Excerpt from the Society of Seniors history book:
John W. Harrigan, ‘The Judge’
Executive Director/Secretary – 1999 – 2015
“Though he didn’t play a lot of golf during his middle ages, mostly due to family obligations as well as his work as a Minnesota attorney and judge, John Harrigan played well enough as a young amateur and also a senior to be welcomed into the SOS when he turned 55 in 1987. The Judge had won the individual NAIA Championship while a student at St. Thomas College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and twice finished second in that same event. Then, he posted two top-10 finishes in the Minnesota State Open. As a senior, Harrigan not only qualified for the 1992 U.S. Senior Amateur but also shared a pair of Minnesota Senior Four Ball titles. In addition, he had three top-15 finishes in the Senior State Open and won club championships at the Minneapolis Golf Club and the Minikahda Club. The Judge had game.
To the Founding Fathers, it was very clear that in addition to his playing skills Harrigan also possessed a particular quality that the SOS needed NOW. The Judge was a very strong administrator, very organized, very driven to manage the process, very quick to make decisions – and very focused on the bottom line. During his 15-plus years as the SOS ’ Main Man for operations, Harrigan helped lead the Society to great growth and prosperity. A lanky fellow with a bald pate and golf ball-white hair on the sides and back of his head, Harrigan served as executive director of the SOS from 1999 to 2013, at which point he took the title of executive secretary.
In both those roles, he was a ubiquitous presence at Society events, an ear piece tucked into one ear as he started groups off the 1st or 10th tee, zipped around the course in a golf cart to make rulings and encourage faster play, and collected cards at the scorer’s table when rounds were complete. He smiled readily as he chatted-up SOS members out on the course and at the clubhouse before and after rounds, happily answering questions about tournament logistics and listening to players talk about their play and shots made and missed.
And all those years his chief assistant was his lovely wife Mimi, who also oversaw the registration desk at tournaments. The Harrigans have long wintered at Quail Ridge, and John operated the SOS out of a little nook in their condo that was filled to the brim with all kinds of SOS info. Want to know who placed third in some 1992 SOS event? John knew exactly which file cabinet held that information, or where it was in the storage bin. Of course, only he knew!
Thanks to all his time in those administrative roles, Harrigan has developed an almost encyclopedic knowledge of the association and its history, the hundreds of golfers who are — and have been –- members and the many tournaments it has sanctioned. To talk with him about the Society is to get a deep look into its rich past — and the talented golfers who have made it great.
It is also a way to get to know a man so self-effacing that he has a vanity license plate on his car that read: Mr. Bogey.
John Harrigan vanity plate
For those who knew Harrigan and his work at the Society, it could just as well read: Mr. SOS.”
