John Capps epitomized Rotary’s mantra

Rotary clubs in Carteret County, N.C., are busily counting down toward the observance of a 100th anniversary milestone on May 19, 2025, and longtime Morehead City citizen Joyce B. Smith is one who is paying attention from the sidelines.

“When I think about all the good Rotary has done, I see the smiling face of John Capps,” she said. So do thousands of others. He literally had a “global Rolodex” of gobs of friends and admirers.

John Talbott Capps III, who died Jan. 27, 2022, at age 80, was a pillar of strength, both within the local community and Rotary International.

 

The Carteret County News-Times devoted a lot of ink to memorialize John Capps, who was described as “an amazing humanitarian.” Rotarian Lee Dixon, a local architect, was quoted as saying: “John dedicated his life to Service Above Self (the Rotary motto) and impacted thousands of lives. Through Rotary, John traveled all over the world helping others and spreading his humor, wit and passion. He was a giant among men who cared for his fellow man.”

 

An editorial in the Feb. 2, 2022, edition of the News-Times, provided more insight: “Unquestionably, Rotary International benefited from John’s work and leadership. But for John, Rotary was more than a service club with an international reach, it was a force multiplier for him as he worked tirelessly to help others.”

“No task ever seemed too small for his attention or too large that he couldn’t, at the very least, attempt to assist. Natural disasters were like a magnet. He wouldn’t think twice about raising aid or providing direct assistance if he saw the opportunity.”

(Capps participated in missions to Ground Zero after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City in 2001 and to Mississippi following Hurricane Katrina in 2005.)

 

Rotarian Doug Wolfe, who successfully nominated Capps for the Rotary Foundation PolioPlus Pioneer Award in 2018, said that John Capps was a prolific fundraiser for the eradication of polio throughout the world. (Capps was one of only 17 Rotarians worldwide to receive the honor in 2018.)

 Capps and his wife, Jane, personally made 10 visits to India in the late 1980s and early 1990s, participating in “national immunization days.”

In those days, India was the world’s epicenter of polio, a highly infectious viral disease, Wolfe said.

“Now, in 2024, India is reporting 13 polio-free years – a remarkable achievement that was made as a result of consistent, determined efforts and genuine commitment at all levels,” Wolfe said.

“It was a long, hard struggle, but John Capps never uttered a discouraging word. He told us that every step we took mattered, and of course, he was right,” Wolfe said.

The World Health Organization, based in Geneva, Switzerland, reports that Afghanistan and Pakistan are the only “two remaining polio endemic countries in the world.”

“‘End Polio Now’ continues to be Rotary’s top philanthropic priority,” Wolfe added, “and we can still feel the gentle hand of John Capps pushing us toward the finish line.”

John Capps, a third-generation Rotarian, was the charter president of the Rotary Club of Morehead City Noon in 1981.

 

John Capps’ reputation rippled around the globe

 

Over the course of his Rotary career, John Capps attended 30 Rotary International conventions. On two occasions, he performed duties as sergeant-at-arms.

Using his wit, charm and enthusiasm, Capps kept order in the hall. No small task, because each session was attended by 40,000-plus delegates.

 

Consequently, Capps touched people from all corners of the globe. One “John Capps disciple” is fellow Rotarian Glen Passmore of Glendale, Calif., who contributes regularly to his club’s newsletter.

“John said we take ourselves too seriously,” Passmore wrote. “John said he liked to participate and share the international humanitarian programs of Rotary…to give us some laughs in order not to weep.”

“John said: ‘I’m not a great Rotarian; I just toil daily in the cornfield of life, to bring a few laughs, a few tears of joy.’”

Passmore wrote: “When he grows up, John says: ‘I want to be a train engineer, because I think I can, I think I can…and YOU can too!’”

That, of course, is a literary reference to the popular children’s story “The Little Engine That Could,” which appeared in print in 1920. The author remains unknown, but the story focuses on the power of positive thinking and the willingness to help others in time of need.

 

John Capps’ life was all about helping others, motivating and inspiring audiences…and laughter.

Born in 1941, Capps grew up in Kinston, graduated from Campbell University in Buies Creek and was a U.S. Army veteran.

The News-Times editorialist noted that Capps came to Carteret County to market and promote a newly formed community bank. He pitched potential investors about the importance of putting their money in the hands of local bankers.

“After the successful development of the new bank, John decided that Morehead City would be his home. With the help of two local entrepreneurs who had a surplus A.B. Dick mimeograph machine, John set up shop as Capps Printing. To introduce himself to possible customers, he printed note card pads with the name of the potential customer and delivered them without any expectation of an immediate order.”

That strategy paid off handsomely. John and Jane Capps began a pattern of giving back to the community through their involvement with the Rotary Club of Morehead City Noon and their support of First Presbyterian Church. They were actively involved in organizations such as Hope Mission of Coastal Carolina, The Salvation Army and Boys & Girls Clubs of the Coastal Plain. John Capps was chair of the board of directors of the Carteret County Chamber of Commerce in 1983.