THE FRONT ROW with JASON ELLIOTT: Priest of Coeur d'Alene, still rolling after 99 years

Bowling isn’t just a sport to John Priest.

It’s a way to get out of the house, socialize and, in some forms, prove that you’re never too old to keep doing what you love.

PRIEST BEGAN bowling when he was 30 in order to have an activity he could do along with his wife, Maureen.

“We were living in California at the time,” Priest said. “She liked to bowl, so it was something we could both do together. We’d go bowling several times a week, even when I was working at the time.”

Priest worked for Hughes Aircraft as an engineer. Priest met and married his wife in 1946, and the couple eventually relocated to Coeur d’Alene in 1994.

“When I retired, I was building satellites, but had been a project engineer and held many different positions with them,” Priest said. “I was a general supervisor and planning supervisor for a while. I really loved it.”

Priest also served in the Air Force during World War II before his career almost took another path.

“I was over in Europe for a while,” Priest said. “Two days after D-Day, we landed in Normandy. I served for a time and got out in November of 1944. Once I got out of the service, I went to California and was going to be an artist. I went to art school for six months and then my wife got pregnant, so I had to quit that. I was going to work in commercial illustration. I can paint, but anymore, I shake too much. I can do it, but I just don’t anymore.”

Maureen passed away in 2015 at the age of 92.

PRIEST, WHO celebrated his 99th birthday in October, is still chasing his first perfect game, and competes in a Monday morning league at Sunset Bowling Center in Coeur d’Alene.

“I’ve bowled perfect games in no-tap, but never in a regular game,” Priest said. “I’ve been bowling in a league since 1960, but never had one. I’ve had three holes-in-one playing golf, but never a perfect game. Two of my holes-in-one were at the Coeur d’Alene Golf Course.”

No-tap tournaments allow a player who knocks down nine pins on their first ball of the frame to count it as a strike. All other scoring is normal for the frame.

As for what keeps him coming back …

“I like coming down here and talking to the friends that I have,” Priest said. “At my age, you don’t have a lot of friends because they’re all dying. I’ve been coming here since 1994, and know quite a few of the guys that are still around here.”

EARLIER IN the season, Priest fell and hurt his hand and was unable to compete for a few weeks.

“When he fell, it was around his birthday, so he wasn’t around,” Monday Senior League secretary/treasurer Char Smith said. “When he came back, I announced it was his birthday and he’d had his 99th. There were a lot of people that had no idea. He’s been kind of an inspiration to a lot of us in the league.”

Priest and Smith bowled in the same league in 2000. Of that group, they are the only two remaining participants.

“We started at the Cove Bowl (on Sherman Avenue, an alley no longer standing) and the league moved to Triple Play (in Hayden) when it opened,” Smith said. “Jerry and his wife were bowling there, and we only had 13 people at that time. We kind of tease each other about being the only remaining originals. But he’s just a super guy.”

As for how much longer he wants to bowl …

“I’d like to keep going as long as I don’t fall down again,” Priest said. “It’s nice to have someone to talk to during the day. I’ve got my daughter and dog at home, but don’t have many friends. It’s nice to have this group of guys to come and hang out with.”

And on a good day, show that you’re never too old to act like a kid again.

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for The Press. He can be reached by telephone at 208-664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at jelliott@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @JECdAPress.