John Roy Duncan

He was born April 26, 1930 in Wallasey, Cheshire, England to Jack and Edna Duncan. He graduated from Oldershaw Grammar School in Wallasey at the age of 17 and then served two years in the Royal Air Force in Nottingham, England, where he was a Telephone Operator.

In 1951, he met Maureen Brown through his mother, who had met her at Butlin’s Holiday Camp and brought a photo of her home to show John. He was so impressed that he went to Maureen’s place of work and asked her for a date. They were married in 1955 and had three children: Janet, Sarah, and David. He worked for Canadian Pacific Ships in Liverpool until 1965 and, when the office downsized, he decided to move his wife and two daughters to Canada to continue his career with Canadian Pacific Railway in Vancouver BC, where he worked out the rates for the Intermodal Department. He loved to do all the math in his head and to converse with people over the phone. When computers came on the scene, he said that his job had become very boring and mundane. Nevertheless, he worked at CP for a total of 37 years, retiring at the age of 58. Many would say that Johnny became even busier after he ‘retired’!

In England, Johnny was involved with a yearly British Pantomime, always performed at Christmas time. When he came to Canada, his love of theatre continued, and he quickly became involved in the North Shore Light Opera Society, Dunbar Musical Theatre and then Theatre in the Park at the Malkin Bowl in Stanley Park. He even went to New York City and directed several Off Broadway productions. His biggest involvement, however, was with Metro Theatre, which he helped revive in 1975 and served as Theatre Manager until 1989. Around town, John became know as “Mr. Metro”. He was involved with Metro Theatre up until just a few years ago and wore many hats. He directed, acted, cleaned, produced, and did box office, to name a few. He made memorable turns on the stage himself, perhaps most notably as Arnold Crouch in “Not Now Darling”. When the TV series “MacGyver” was filming in Vancouver, he got work as a stand-in, and was an extra in some made for TV movies. He was a big fan of Frank Sinatra and especially Anthony Newley, and you could hear Johnny regularly singing one of their famous tunes.

In 1999, he took over writing and directing the Christmas pantomimes for Metro, and continued the tradition for 15 years. He loved to make people laugh, and always took great pleasure in seeing how much people enjoyed the “pantos”. Johnny also had many opportunities to perform Stand-up Comedy throughout his lifetime, and, for several Christmases, he was Santa Claus in the mall, which he loved.

Our dad was a very generous man who was always willing to help anyone in need. He loved his family and, while we were growing up, he took us on many family outings, which we will always treasure. All of us took our turns in being involved with him in theatre productions. In the early 1970s, we spent several summers as a family working together as caretakers of Malkin Bowl during the Theatre in the Park Season. Happy Memories!

John was a lifelong fan of Liverpool Football Club, so it was fitting that the boys won the FA Cup a few days before he passed. He enjoyed making the occasional small wager on football and hockey, and always shared his winnings. He put a bet on the St. Louis Blues to win the Stanley Cup this year, and we all wait anxiously to see if that bet was a good one. We’re sure he's keeping an eye on the situation!

Everyone who knew our dad loved him, and he always had a song on his lips, even during his last days in the hospital. He will be greatly missed by his loving family and many friends and acquaintances.

John is survived by his sister Beryl (Bunty); the mother of his children, Maureen; daughters, Janet (Tim) and Sarah (Gordon); son, David (Neva); grandchildren, Lindsay (Vance), Michael, Erin, Chris (Rachael), Aven; and nephews and nieces from both sides of “The Pond”.

A private family memorial will be held later.

As Johnny held such a special place in his heart for his dogs, Shep, Dakota, and Megan and his Cat, Sox, in lieu of flowers, donations to BCSPCA.ca are greatly appreciated.

Memories of Johnny and messages of love and support can be sent to the family by visiting John’s obituary at www.VictoryMemorialPark.com