John Williams

He was born in 1928, in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The only son of Albert and Margaret Williams. He was raised in a devout Christian family. Sadly, at the age of 10 his mother passed away after a long battle with cancer. His Father, worked for the Great Western Railway and became an Air Warden in WWII. Having lost his mother early and being a teenager in the war meant Dad (John) was offered many more responsibilities than usual. By the age of 15, he had begun to travel all around Wiltshire on his bicycle, helping preach at small local churches. After finishing secondary school, he elected to attend London Bible College, where he received a bachelor's degree in Theology. His early life after graduation led him to travel extensively in the role of Evangelist, often speaking in tents set up in village squares. Many responded to the message of Christian love that he shared.

During the post war period, his dad, Albert chose to leave the industrial town of Swindon and purchase a seaside Christian guest house in the South of England in a village called Teignmouth. Dad spent many of his summers helping at ‘Charterhouse’. His role would be to take the guests on bus tours of the Southwest of England, teaching them about the history and culture of the small, thatched roof towns. As time moved on, he began to travel further afield, including many parts of North America and the Caribbean. On one trip to Vancouver, he met Audrey Rae who would become the great love of his life. They celebrated their 65th anniversary this past February 2024. After the arrival of their two sons, Stephen and David, Dad settled into the more ‘family friendly’ job of pastoring.

John became a gifted church pastor and ministered in several churches over the years (Vancouver, Toronto, Devon England, Detroit and Victoria). He was the founding pastor at Lambrick Park Church on Feltham Road in Victoria. He moved on to support other churches in Vancouver, Victoria and on the Island. In addition to his pastoring, he has traveled widely speaking at Christian conferences all across the world and has written 30 books on various aspects of Christian life and teaching.

In his last years, his health became an issue on many fronts. He lost his vision in his 70’s which was a major challenge in life. Despite severe heart failure, he kept preaching and traveling up until 4 months ago. Finally at age 95, he had to save the last of his energy to care for his wife, Audrey, still alive at 96, troubled with dementia and also a resident of Luther Court Nursing home. The day before he died, he spent most of the afternoon sitting in the lobby of the nursing home, holding Audrey’s hand and greeting people as they came and went; a people-loving person to the end.

Survived by:

He is survived by his dear wife, Audrey, his 2 sons (Stephen and David), their wives (Jacquie and Joan), grandchildren (Sarah, Ashley, Jennifer, Sam) and one new great-grandson, Jack (2 months old).

Service details:

He will be buried in the Memorial Garden at Royal Oak Burial Park with a small family service. His public Celebration of life service will be held at the church which he founded 50 years ago, Lambrick Park Church at 1780 Feltham Road at 1 pm on Saturday, June 10, 2024.

Final requests:

In lieu of flowers, family friends who wish to make contributions are encouraged to send a cheque to the Missionary services committee (MSC) for supporting the people who work cross culturally to bring God’s love to the world.