John Francis McIntyre

John Francis “Jack” McIntyre died peacefully in Surrey Memorial Hospital, two weeks before his 97th birthday. He was a son, a brother, a friend, an uncle, a devoted husband and father and a grandfather, predeceased by mother Mary (May), father John J. (Joe) and siblings Joseph, Gerald, Mary, Winnfred, Blanche, Charles, Patricia and Clotilda. Jack was a devout Catholic his whole life, who will be lovingly remembered by his dear wife of 70 years, Hilda, and their six children: Ronald, Douglas, Bruce, Kathleen, Jodi and Alan. 

Jack was born on January 19th, 1928, the seventh of nine children. He grew up in the hardscrabble coal mining towns of Coleman and Blairmore in the Crowsnest Pass area of southwestern Alberta, where his father was mine manager. He was a gifted student who found time to play organized hockey as a goaltender, all the way up to the university level, where his team won a championship. During summers he worked in the coal mines where draft horses—not engines—hauled rail cars full of coal from the mine to the surface. Jack joined the Royal Canadian Air Cadets and later in life learned how to fly. He was just young enough to avoid serving in World War two. 

Reaching college age in the late 1940s Jack attended St Francis Xavier University for two years followed by two more at the University of Alberta where he completed his mining engineering degree. During his 60 years plus career as an engineer and promoter Jack’s work was challenging and diverse. But his career wasn’t what defined him; his strong character, morality, honesty, kindness and love of family are the things that he will be remembered for.

He was a life-long learner who read voraciously and loved to grow tomatoes in his back yard. His book collection reveals titles by iconic authors, describing Canadian and global politics, war history, world leaders, aviation, philosophy, climate, meteorology, the environment and the many significant global events of the 20th century. 

Jack sought to understand the great lessons of history, and how world leaders’ successes, challenges and failures bore on his own life, his family and his career. He was an intellectual and a good man, a loving, devoted husband and an occasionally impatient father who never suffered fools but never hated them either. Jack loved long one-on-one discussions about the many topics which interested him, which was almost everything.

In his later years Jack suffered from dementia, which gradually robbed him of his ability to walk and speak. He was lovingly home-cared during his final five years by wife Hilda and sons Ron and Doug. Our family wishes to acknowledge the support of The Brella Society, Fraser Health’s Care Aides and the Canadian Red Cross. 

Jack found deep meaning in the poem “Crossing the Bar”, where author Alfred, Lord Tennyson uses passage across a harbour’s bar to the vastness of the open sea as his, and Jack’s, metaphor for leaving earth to go to heaven.

A Catholic mass will be held at Saint Matthew’s RC Parish at 16079 88th Avenue, Surrey, BC, on January 29th at 10:00 AM, followed by a reception. We invite you to attend Jack’s inurnment at Garden of Gethsemani Cemetery, 15800 32nd Avenue in Surrey at 1:30 PM. Please join us after the inurnment for a celebration in Jack’s honour at Unit 141 – 15501 89A Avenue, Surrey.