John passed away on the evening of July 13, 2017 in the Royal Columbian Hospital at the age of 89. He was a kind, gentle and loving father. He is survived by Gayle, Gordon and his wife Susan and son Gerald and his wife Carol and their, children Brian and Diana, his grandchildren, Jazmine and Jacob. As well as his brother Dale and his sister Betty, her family and their families. He was predeceased by his loving wife, Una and his sister’s Jean, Thelma and brother Owen.
John was born in Kamloops BC to Douglas and Bertha (Ella) Ross to a large family living in Chase. He grew up in BC and Alberta until he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force after WW II, in 1948. While stationed in Greenwood NS he met Una and fell in love. They were married in Nova Scotia and started their life together in Germany at Baden Baden Air Force Base, 4 Wing. Upon returning to Canada in the late 1950’s they started a family by adopting two boys, one in 1957 and one in 1958, Gordon and Gerald. The family moved around Canada from posting to posting until they reached Winnipeg, were the family grew by one more with the addition of Gayle in 1964. The military postings took us to Comox, BC in 1971. This was the last posting for the Ross family as John had finished his enlistment of 26 years, in what ended up as the Canadian Armed Forces in the fall of 1974 at the rank of Warrant Officer. After his retirement from the military, he moved the family to Langley BC where he joined the private working sector as an avionics technician for a major air lines out of Vancouver Airport. He worked for another 15 or so years before moving to Burnaby were he retired in the early 1990’s.
Tragedy struck shortly after retirement in the sudden death of his wife and our mother Una. She was sourly missed by everyone who knew her and extra hard by our father. To ease the emptiness of the loss he took up some new hobbies. He started to travel to Europe to see family and friends. He started to collect rocks and make jewelry. This hobby took to the Yukon and other rock havens to collect rare finds. He even took up kayaking in the rivers and ocean around the Lower Mainland as a way to stay fit and healthy.
Jack will be cremated and his ashes will be laid to rest beside his lovely wife Una together forever, at Victory Memorial Site in Surrey on September 12, 2017.
COMPARTA UN OBITUARIO
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