John French; Beverly Hills Educator, Airport Commission Adviser

John Henry French, a Beverly Hills educator and Westside civic leader who served as an adviser to the Los Angeles Airport Commission, has died. He was 82.

French died Saturday at St. Vincent’s Hospital of pneumonia and lymphatic leukemia, his son, Michael, of San Jose, said Tuesday.

The genial French spent about three decades with the Beverly Hills Unified School District, about half of it as math teacher, tennis coach and dean of boys at Beverly Hills High School and the remainder as principal of Beverly Vista Elementary School. He also served as president of the southern section of the California Teachers Assn.

“You don’t know what the day holds until you begin it and then you have the challenge of meeting crises and being able to accommodate parents who want you to both educate and take care of their children,” he told The Times when he retired in 1972. “What I call myself is an accommodator, not an educator.”

French, who once ran for the Los Angeles City Council, helped influence the development of Century City and the surrounding area as president of the Tract 7260 Homeowners Assn. He also used the position to work for community oil leases and against a proposed Beverly Hills Freeway along Santa Monica Boulevard that was never built.

He remained on the Airport Commission advisory board until his death. French earned a commendation from the Los Angeles City Council for his civic work, and a small Westside park is named in his honor.

A licensed pilot, French taught flying after his retirement and was president of the National Cessna 210 Owners Assn.

He was also a longtime officer of the Will Rogers Optimist Club on the Westside.

Born in Landsdowne, Ontario, Canada, French moved to Monterey, Calif., as a child and earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from UC Berkeley. During his student days, he won the 1932 California State Tennis Championship. He later received his master’s and doctoral degrees in education from UCLA.

During World War II, French served as an Army officer at Guadalcanal and New Guinea, and at the end of the war helped administer the Republic of Korea. He was released from active duty in 1946 with the rank of major and retired from the Army Reserve in 1965 as a colonel.

In addition to his son, French is survived by his wife of 59 years, Laila, and two grandchildren.

The family has asked that any memorial donations be made to the Heart Fund of St. Vincent’s Hospital, 2131 West 3rd St., Los Angeles, Calif. 90057.