John passed away on Monday, the 7th of March at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital.
He is survived by Cynthia, his wife of more than 70 years; his children, Jennifer, Kerry, Eric, Andrea, and Deidre; grandchildren, Shelly, Christopher, Johl, Loree, Sean, Eric, Katie, Benjamin, Robert, Elizabeth, and Tina; great-grandchildren, Lenie, Kieran, Georgia, Jessie, Brandon, Matthew, Andrew, Alivia, Jevin, Cade, Rylan, and Kylar; as well as his brother, David.
John was a Lieutenant-Commander in the Royal Canadian Navy and served in the North Atlantic in WWII. He was instrumental in the development of Malaspina College (Vancouver Island University), serving as its first registrar (1969) and, in 1974, became the college’s first Continuing Education Director. John was also a founding member of the Nanaimo Chapter of the Federation of Canadian Artists and a member of the Probus Club.
He will be greatly missed by his family and all who knew him.