1931 – 2016
John Harold (Jack) Ward passed away peacefully at St. Joseph’s Hospital on April, 20th, 2016 after a brief illness, surrounded by those he loved.
“Pop” to those who knew him, was born on April 21st, 1931 in Calgary Alberta, and was predeceased by his father Harold Octavious, his mother Ellen (Templeton), and his great grandson Noah. Jack is survived by his sisters Dorothy (Scott), Joy (Hilton), and brother Richard (Joyce).
Jack is also survived by Maureen, his wife of 62 years, daughters Jan, Terry (Larry) Rennison, and son John (Krista), and grandchildren Ryan, Jennifer, Taeryn, Graeme, Owen, Lindsay and Stephanie, and two great-grandchildren, Jacob and Judah. There was nothing more important to Jack than his family.
Jack lived on the family homestead in Midnapore, near Calgary, until the family moved to Union Bay in 1934. As a young man, Jack helped his family through tough times, and began working at an early age. In 1953, Jack married Maureen Weir, and began the next chapter in his life.
Jack had a legendary passion for automobiles, and had owned approximately 60 vehicles including cars, trucks, and motorcycles during his life when he stopped counting. Many of the vehicles “needed work”. If Jack couldn’t fix a car or motorcycle, it couldn’t be fixed.
A mechanic by trade, Jack had several careers over his working life, including hauling coal from Tsable River to Union Bay, truck driver and machine operator for Davis Trucking, co-owner of Three Way Service Volkswagen dealership in Courtenay, and a mechanic at Comox Valley Ford. Jack spent his final working years as the mechanic/equipment operator for the Village of Cumberland, and he would tell you these were the best years of his working life.
Jack also had a passion for the fire service. He served for 10 years on the Union Bay Volunteer Fire Department, and building a pumper truck with other department members while he was there. When the family moved to Cumberland in 1961, he joined the Cumberland Volunteer Fire Department the next year and served faithfully for 34 years, retiring in 1996 as a Captain and Honourary Life Member. Jack was one of the early supporters of the Comox Valley Fire Safety House program, having personally built the frame and suspension that the fire safety house sits on to this day.
A celebration of Jack’s life will be held at Piercy’s/Mount Washington Funeral Chapel, on Friday May 20th, 2016 at 2:00 p.m. with a tea to follow.
In lieu of flowers, Jack would prefer donations to be made to YANA Comox Valley in his memory.