John A. Koten, a prominent supporter of the arts and education in Chicago and a leader in the field of public relations, died in Hinsdale, Ill., at age 84. Though Mr. Koten lived in many places during his life, he considered Rochester his home and he never lost touch with his Hoosier heritage. He summered at Lake Manitou with his family as a child and maintained several vacation homes on the lake's north shore, visiting as often as he could. He enjoyed sailing and water skiing and served as commodore of the Lake Manitou Yacht Club. He loved to make an evening trip to the Flagpole unless it was closed for the season. He took his last pontoon ride around the lake in September. Mr. Koten, known by his friends as "Jack", spent his entire career in various operating, financial, and corporate communications capacities in what was known as the Bell System. He worked at AT&T, Illinois Bell, New Jersey Bell, and retired as senior vice president of Ameritech and president of its Ameritech Foundation. He was known as a strong proponent of corporate social responsibility long before it became popular to do so. As executive director of the Better Schools Committee of Chicago, he spearheaded a referendum that increased funding for education in the city. He also served as a member of the Illinois Schools Problems Commission and as a trustee of his alma mater, North Central College in Naperville, Ill., where he received an honorary doctor of laws degree in 1991. The Koten chapel at North Central is named in the family's honor. He also received an honorary degree from Quincy University in Quincy, Ill. He was a life trustee of the Associated Colleges of Illinois. Koten had a great love of the arts and ceaselessly advocated their importance to the culture of the city. He served as a life trustee of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and as a director and treasurer of the Arts Alliance Illinois. He was a strong supporter of the Lyric Opera of Chicago, helping to facilitate the funding of several productions. He also served as a director of the American Symphony Orchestra League in Washington, D.C., was vice chairman of the American Arts Alliance in Washington, D.C., and a member of the board of overseers of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Koten co-founded, along with AT&T senior vice president Ed Block, the Arthur W. Page Society, an organization of Fortune 500 senior corporate communications professionals dedicated to upholding high standards in the field. Koten was inducted into the Arthur Page Society Hall of Fame in 1995. Following his retirement, he compiled and edited "Building Trust," a book advocating that corporations have a duty to operate with integrity and play a positive role in the communities from which they derive economic support. Early in his career, Mr. Koten contributed to The Walker Report to the National Commission on The Causes and Prevention of Violence, which investigated the causes of the riots in Chicago following the Democratic National Convention. He also served as director of business and industry for the Illinois Sesquicentennial Commission. Other foundations and civic organizations in which he played a leadership role included serving as chairman of the Great Books Foundation and a director of the Economic Club of Chicago. He was a director of the Church Federation and chairman of the Board of Pensions of the Northern Illinois Conference of the United Methodist Church. When the 120-year-old United Methodist Church in Barrington, Illinois, burned to the ground in 1998, he was instrumental in helping to raise the funds to build a new church. A long time resident of Barrington Hills, Ill., Mr. Koten also served as a trustee of the District 220 Educational Foundation, which raises money for Barrington's public schools. He participated actively in the Public Relations Society of America, the National Manufacturers Association, the Conference Board, and the Chicago Advertising Club. He was on the board of visitors of the Medill School of Journalism and was a director of the Plank Center for Public Relations at the University of Alabama. Mr. Koten was born in Indianapolis and served in the U.S. Army at Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas. He is a descendent of Indiana poet John E. Troutman and was preceded in death by his parents, Roy Y. and M. Margaret "Peg" Koten (Neerman). He is survived by his wife, Catherine M. Koten (Hruska), a sister, Jane Koten, three children, John, Mark, and Sarah, and four grandchildren, Jake, Graham, Mak and Kate. Funeral services were held January 9 at Good Family Funeral Home in Rochester, followed by burial at the I.O.O.F. Cemetery, Rochester. Memorial services will be held later in the year at the Barrington United Methodist Church in Barrington, Ill, and at North Central College. Memorials may be made to North Central College or to the Barrington United Methodist Church.