John R. Hanify was born in New York on September 16, 1862. After his mother’s death, John and his father moved to California and just a few months after arrival his father passed, leaving the 14 year-old to shift for himself.
The youngster found employment as an office boy at Moore & Smith Lumber Company where he was to remain for seventeen years. In 1893 he started his own company “J.R. Hanify” a selling agency representing various sawmills. Within a few years he had a partner and began manufacturing lumber and building sailing vessels and steamers.
Mr. Hanify was always interested in amateur yachting and his first boat was the Myrtle, a 32-foot sloop. He built and raced three schooners but his pride, Westward, was built especially for the Panama-Pacific Exposition races in 1915 by William Garner of New York, designer of America Cup defenders. The King George V trophy commemorating this victory was presented to Hanify by the King of England himself after Westward defeated the best yachts and sailors from around the world.
John Hanify was an Olympic Club Director from April 1914 until July 1918, and served as Club Treasurer. Hanify and fellow OC Director E.A. Christenson spent a lot of time with Olympic Club youngsters “sailorizing”, teaching sailing on 21 foot dorys. Both men died in a storm, May 6, 1922 doing what they loved best…sailing.
