Obituary Trevor Johnston: Rotorua squash legend, three-time national champion dies.
Squash legend Trevor Johnston from Rotorua has died at the age of 82. Photo / Supplied
He was a champion, a mentor, a father, a supporter and a hard worker who always squeezed in a run to stay fit.
New Zealand squash legend Trevor Johnston from Rotorua has died at the age of 82 after a battle with cancer.
Johnston was a three-time New Zealand Squash Champion and represented his country from 1964 to 1975. Winning national titles in 1966, 1968 and 1975 and achieving runner-up on several occasions, he was also known on the world stage, achieving a world ranking of number eight and reaching the British Open quarter finals in 1969.
In that same year, he won the South African Open – the most significant tournament victory by a New Zealander at that time.
According to the New Zealand Squash Hall of Fame website, the left-hander was always lean and fit, played with precision and power and was the first New Zealand-born player to foot it with the best in the world.
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In 2013, he was inducted into the New Zealand Squash Hall of Fame.
Squash legend Trevor Johnston from Rotorua died at the age of 82. Photo / Supplied
Squash legend Trevor Johnston from Rotorua died at the age of 82. Photo / Supplied
His wife of 59 years, Betty, said her husband was a proud father to Wayne and Carl, both from Rotorua, who both had families of their own.
She said his other great milestone was working for State Insurance in numerous roles for 55 years until his retirement, starting out in Palmerston North before moving to Rotorua in 1968.
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“After retiring from squash, Trevor, being a fitness fanatic, could be seen running around the Rotorua streets in his lunch hour.
“When his ankles could take no more pounding, [he] took to cycling and biked around the lake every second day until just before his illness,” she said.
Always busy, Johnston enjoyed the land and when he retired from squash, he and Betty developed several small blocks of land around Rotorua until downsizing to Brunswick Park in 2008. Among their part-time farming pursuits were drystock, kiwifruit and angora goats.
Son Wayne Johnston, who was also handy with a squash racquet and played for the Bay of Plenty, said his father was an incredible supporter.
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