John Harvey Turriff

John Turriff, CET – June 9, 1943 to January 12, 2018. Died peacefully in his 74th year, surrounded by family at Southlake Regional Health Centre in Newmarket, following a lengthy illness and hospitalization that began mid-November and continued into the New Year.

He will be dearly missed by sons Garrett Turriff of Deep River, and Ken Turriff (Susan) and grandson Andrew, all of Aurora. He is survived by sisters Marilyn Mackenzie (David) of Brockville, their children Laurel, Janet (Tom), Ken (Nathalie) and Karen (Craig); and Daralyn Power-Williams (Grant) of Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, and their children Glen, Janice, and Gregory.

John also leaves behind grand-nieces Kate, Marie-Christine and Alicia and grand-nephews James, Sam, Andrew and Benjamin.

Born and raised in Montreal, John started his profession as an aerospace technologist and firefighter. Later he moved to Deep River where he began raising his family and enjoyed a successful career at Atomic Energy of Canada's Chalk River Nuclear Laboratories. Although the family relocated to Mississauga for a number of years, John was drawn back to Deep River for the latter part of his life.

Over the years he was a proud member of several composite and volunteer fire departments. In fact, it could be argued that fire fighting was the vocation closest to his heart and his Chalk River Fire Department jacket among his most treasured possessions. His interests were also diverse, for anyone who met John quickly learned he was an avid Montreal Canadiens fan, quite the model train and amateur radio enthusiast and that he loved country music. He will be much missed.

There will not be a funeral service but a celebration of John's life will be held during the spring in Montreal where he will be laid to rest alongside his mother Jessie Turriff (nee Jackson) and father Ross.

We cannot say enough great things about the nurses, doctors and staff at Southlake Regional Health Centre, especially in their Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit. The dedication and compassion shown to him and our family is both touching and will be cherished always. We encourage donations to the Southlake Foundation, the Deep River & District Hospital or a charity of your choice.