"We won four Penn Relays races," in 1960, 1961, 1963, and 1964, Keville said, noting that he was coached by his father-in-law.
Mr. Kovatis also coached the parish's seventh and eighth graders on the football field from 1958 to 1963, Keville said.
And he coached baseball teams in the Llanerch Hills Little League from 1956 to 1960 and in the Drexel/Llanerch American Legion league from 1964 to 1968.
Born in Brockton, Mass., Mr. Kovatis graduated in 1937 from Brockton High School, enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1938, and served as communications chief for the famed Lewis "Chesty" Puller during the Battle of Guadalcanal, which lasted from August 1942 to February 1943.
"He went in in August, when they first landed, and came off in January," Keville said.
Mr. Kovatis was hit by malaria and blood poisoning during the battle, ending his combat experience. He was hospitalized in Australia and then at the Philadelphia Naval Hospital, when he met his future wife, Agnes, at a USO dance.
In July 2010, Mr. Kovatis was among those honored at a ceremony at Marine Barracks Washington as one of the last surviving veterans of the Guadalcanal campaign.
He was discharged from the Marines in October 1945 and from 1953 to 1973 was an electrician and estimator for what is now the Defense Supply Center in Philadelphia, Keville said.
For the 1961 Army-Navy Game at what was then Memorial Stadium in South Philadelphia, he was responsible for helping set up electronics for the visit of President John F. Kennedy.
After retiring from government service, Mr. Kovatis was until 1976 a contract coordinator for the adult workshop at the Association for Retarded Citizens of Delaware County.
In addition to his son-in-law and his wife of 65 years, Mr. Kovatis is survived by a son, Ronald; a daughter, Janet Keville; a sister; five grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
Visitation was set for 10 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 18, at the Donahue Funeral Home, 1627 West Chester Pike, West Chester, before a memorial service there at 11.
Contact Walter F. Naedele at 215-854-5607 or wnaedele@phillynews.com.
