First elected in 1974, Combs served 20 years before retiring as a trustee for the Crawford County School Board. His election to five consecutive four-year terms was unprecedented. "I don't think anyone else has even come close," said Bayward Cole of Leavenworth, who retired in 1991 after 16 years (with a break in the late 1970s) as superintendent for the school corporation. Combs served on the board much of that time.

"The thing I always admired about him was I found him to be honest and he didn't get tangled in politics. "Ish did only what he thought was right," Cole said. "It didn't make any difference how much pressure was put on him. He was interested in the schools and the educational process and he also took into consideration the schools were paid for by tax money. "He was just a good, all-around school board member."

Combs was a school trustee when Crawford's four high schools were consolidated and later worked behind the scenes to renovate and expand the five grade schools.

Fellow board member Clisten Corbet of Eckerty, said, "Ish had a lot to do with getting the five grade schools redone. He deserves a lot of credit for that." Corbett added: "Ish was an asset to the school system. We didn't always agree, but we didn't carry anything on our shoulders."

Combs, also served on the board of the South Central Career Center (formerly South Central Area Vocational School) and was a past president.

Terry Kinser, automotive instructor at the vocational school, said he knew Combs well. He was a staunch supporter of the trade school. "He knew every teacher, every program. He could tell what was happening at the school. That's what you need in a school board member. John did fantastic things up there. But the best part was listening to his fishing tales," Kinser said. "He had some fishing stories that were unreal. The thing was he could back them up when he went fishing."

He was a former Crawford County Civil Defense director and received a commendation from the state civil defense department for his work during the 1979 flood.

He was also a former member of the Marengo-Liberty Township Volunteer Fire Dept.

He retired after more than 30 years in the printing business, having worked for O'Bannon Publishing Co. in Corydon and the old English Publishing Co. since 1957. He was photographer and production manager for the Crawford County Democrat and The News-Messenger before it merged with The Clarion in 1992 to become the Clarion News.

* This bio was shared by his oldest son and appeared in the local paper upon Ish's death.