Christopher Johnson

Dad was predeceased by his wife of 59 years, Ann in 2012, by his son Ray in 2019, and by all of his brothers and his sister and their spouses.

He is survived by his four daughters Valerie (David), Patricia (Sean), Lorraine, and Theresa (Kevin), plus 11 grandsons, 4 granddaughters, and 21 great grandchildren plus 3 more on the way.

Dad was the youngest of 6 children and was raised in remote logging camps during the depression. He was first schooled through correspondence, then later rowed a mile each way to attend a forestry station school, and then attended a religious boarding school to complete his high school. Dad graduated early so he could enlist in WWII where he served from 1944 until they had completed the clean up in 1946. He married our mom in 1953 and worked as a steam fitter and other positions at the Port Mellon pulp mill, continuously upgrading his skills and tickets. Although mom and dad had many relatives and friends in Gibsons, dad accepted a job at the Prince George pulp mill in 1969, then following his plan, he moved our family to Kamloops in 1973. Dad had a strong belief in the value of unions and that lead him to be president of the local IWA in the 80’s. He retired from the mill in 1991 which gave him and mom time to travel before mom’s Alzheimer’s made that difficult in the late 90’s.

Dad highly valued the Catholic religion and the pursuit of knowledge. He loved golf and badminton but gave them up to focus on writing his bowling book. He and mom travelled across Canada and the US by train, stopping to visit older bowling alleys to get more history on the game. Mom filmed hours of dad’s bowling so that he could examine the effects of pin fall from where the ball hit it. He completed the book but it did not get published. Dad bowled in a weekly league with his daughters until he was 94, often averaging over 100. He played bridge until he was 86, and stopped playing cribbage at 94 because of dementia.

Dad enjoyed a good political debate with his grandsons and willingly shared his strong religious beliefs as well. He was fiercely independent and strong willed, thus he walked laps wherever he was until his health confined him to a wheelchair in April this year.

We are grateful for the Care Aides, Nurses, Dr Howie, and all staff at Chartwell, RIH, and at Gemstone for their assistance in his care.

The Funeral Mass will take place at Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Catholic Church on July 15, 2021 at 11am with a graveside to follow for family.

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