The National Wrestling Hall of Fame was saddened to learn that John Dustin, who received the Order of Merit award from the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2013 and the Lifetime Service to Wrestling award from the Oregon Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2012, passed away on June 16, at the age of 86. 

A memorial service will be held on Monday June 24, at 2 p.m. at the Rolling Hills Community Church in Tualitan, Oregon. 

"We are deeply saddened to hear about the passing of John Dustin, a man whose passion for wrestling was unparalleled. On behalf of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Board of Governors and our staff, I extend our heartfelt condolences to his family and friends." said Lee Roy Smith, Executive Director of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. "John had a rewarding career on the mat, becoming the first two-time All-American for Oregon State University, and then became a successful high school coach. After spending two years in Japan, he returned to the United States and began a more than 50-year career of service to our great sport. His contributions were immense and his absence will be deeply felt." 

For most of his life, John Dustin served the sport of wrestling. 

Wrestling for Oregon State University, he placed fourth at the NCAA wrestling tournament at 177 pounds in 1957 and 1958, becoming the first two-time All-American in program history. His 42-5 career record placed him eighth on Oregon State’s all-time career winning percentage list. 

Dustin was an assistant coach at Oregon State before coaching at Marshfield High School from 1962-1970, where his wrestlers won eight individual state high school titles. In 1970, Dustin and his family left for a two-year assignment at the American School in Japan. 

After returning to the United States Dustin continued a distinguished career of over five decades of service to the sport of wrestling, which included roles as a coach, national and international official, national and international sports administrator, and manager of the wrestling competitions at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, the Sydney Olympics in 2000, and three Goodwill Games. He has worked with FILA, the international governing body for the sport of wrestling, the Amateur Athletic Union, USA Wrestling, and virtually every major wrestling organization around the world. 

He refereed three FILA World Championships, including the 1966 World Championships in Toledo, Ohio, the 1969 Junior World Championships in Boulder, Colo., and the 1971 Junior World Championships in Tokyo, Japan. He was also selected as team leader by USA Wrestling for the 1990 World Championships. 

Dustin received nine major awards from FILA and additional awards from the Asian Wrestling Congress, and from the wrestling governing bodies of Taipei, Mexico, New Zealand, and Australia. Included in those awards are two Diplomas of Honor and a very special award in 2002 for “extraordinary contributions to the wrestling sport development all over the world” given by FILA president Milan Ercegan.