June 28, 1948 – October 28, 2015
Here’s to Johnny B…….our true Boy Scout. He left us far too early. He is survived by his much loved family…wife & partner Janice, son Scot (Katie), daughter Sue and grandboys Keegan, Jordy and Luke. His extended family included his brother & good friend Ian Blanchet (Dawn), sisters Pam Blanchet and Susan Moore, brother Guy Blanchet; step siblings Clark Campbell (Dorene), John Campbell (Robyn), Nina Richards (Wayne). He had many cousins, nieces & nephews on both coasts for whom he had great affection. And then of course his high school friend Richard Hanson (Sherry) who ultimately became his brother-in-law. Along with the whole fun-loving Hanson clan.
John was born June 28, 1948 in Vancouver BC. He spent his early years in North Vancouver until age 15 when he moved to Nassau in the Bahamas with his father, Eric. He had started sailing with his father when he was very young. That love of the water & of sailing grew even stronger in the Bahamas where he sailed & raced to his heart’s content. At the age of 17, he went to New Brunswick , home to many Blanchet cousins. He graduated from Rothesay Collegiate School. And went on to Mount Allison University and University of New Brunswick where he completed his degree in Civil Engineering. While at University, he married his best friend’s sister, Janice and took on the Hansons as his own. Forty seven years together happened because they shared such a great sense of fun & adventure.
Jan & John started their family in Fredericton… son Scot and daughter Sue. While the kids were still young, they made a move to Victoria where John spent the rest of his working career. The kids have been forever grateful to live on the mild West coast where they took up their father’s love of sailing. He loved hanging out with his kids…..doing one of his numerous projects with son Scot, or skiing with daughter Sue. And when the grandboys came along, he was over the moon. By then he had the freedom to spend unlimited time reading to them, playing soccer, going on adventures.
He was indeed a boy scout in all his endeavours….. his family, his career as a highly respected civil engineer, and his love of sailing. He had integrity, he was true blue, he looked after his family, and he gave everything his best effort. Even through 15 years of living with dementia, he did his best.
He will be roasted & toasted at a small family gathering in coming days. In lieu of flowers, donations are welcome to Oak Bay Kiwanis Pavilion or charity of your choice. And you can follow John on Facebook to see & share photos and stories from the fun days .
May our John always have fair winds and following seas.
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My Captain, My Captain, you always gave us a light to follow. Forever in our Hearts, Love you Bro, Cheers and Fair Winds.
It was such a shock to see John’s obit in the paper today! We have a lot of great memories of John from our years in the old neighbourhood. All the kids will be here this weekend so we will raise a glass to John and I’m sure we will all have stories to tell about him. Our thoughts are with you all.
Hugs from all of us
Kathy Haydn Sean Mark and Jukue
Thinking about all of you, Janice, Sue, Scot, Jordy, Luke, and Keegan and every other loved ones. May John rest in peace and watch over all of you. He leaves a smile in my memory of him and the stories that I hear of how inspiring he was as a father, husband, and friend.
“A little tribute small and tender,
Just to say we still remember.”
It is sad that I only knew John during the last few years. But I got to know what a great husband, father, brother and friend he was to all.
I am grateful that John and Tony were able to share their journey together.
They were a great pair. John didn’t speak much and Tony loved to talk. So when Jan and I would get together for walks, Tony would talk to John endlessly and John would happily listen with a nod and a smile.
John will be truly missed. Love to you Jan and to your family.
Sincere condolences,
Cindy
Like Cindy my association with John and Jan was in the last years of his illness. Jan was a wonderful support and wife to John, Love to you and your family, Jan.
Sincere condolences,
Mary Weller
Hi Janice!
Thinking of you at this very difficult time. I still remember John at Yellow Point dancing with Nancy.
Bye-Bye John!
Hope to see you at Yellow Point next year.
Love Anne
Bev and I remember John as a very warm, likeable person from many years ago when our daughters played soccer and softball. Jan, Sue, and Scott our prayers and thoughts are with you.
My deepest condolences to my beautiful best friend Sue her three boys, Janice and Scot and all family. I hope that the treasured memories of times spent together filled with laughter and happiness will comfort you in the days ahead.
Thinking of you all! Xo!
Very sorry to hear about big bro John. From what I saw and heard he was a great big bro, from his little bro who was really proud of him. I will remember the first time meeting John at his little bro’s wedding, he took care to make sure we in the wedding party made it home safely, like a big bro would. Our thoughts are with your family.
I only knew John during his years in care at Kiwanis. Which is to say I never saw him at his best. But even so, there was always an unmistakeable sense of a kind & gentle soul, someone who loved music. It both moved him to tears and got his toes tapping depending on the tune. And of course I knew him through Jan, his strong & constant companion. Her character speaks highly of the man she was married to. And now all these lovely tributes I’ve been reading. I missed the richness of his being but I will never forget him. Love to the whole family.
John has been a far away but a very good mate for many years. We have the best memories of such happy family times together on each of our trips ‘home’ from Australia. John always made such a special effort to welcome us with his big smile, lovely chuckle,open arms ,and always very perfectly planned days together,with very detail looked after.
As he looked after his family and friends ,so too have you Janice looked after your John all these years with humour ,patience and always love. Muc love to you Scot and Sue,
Heather and Keith
Janice,
We were so sad to hear of John’s passing. We have lots of great memories of get together’s at Yoho, when you were home for visits. John will be missed by so many. Our thoughts are with you and your whole family. Raise a glass to John for us when Richard and Sherry arrive.
Bill and Phyl
I am so sorry for your loss. John was a wonderful, loyal husband and father to his family. His smile will never be forgotten. He lost his life way to soon. My heart goes out to all of you.
Ann Hanson Kinsella
I am so sorry for your loss. John was a wonderful loyal husband and father to you. His smile will never be forgotten. Very sad day…
To Janice and family – I have special memories of John from the summer he spent with us in Rothesay, N.B., fitting in perfectly in his quiet sweet way. He was nice to all his younger cousins with whom he shared a bathroom, bedroom and all our fun summer days. I asked him to sign my autograph book. He wrote – “Up on a mountain, carved on a tree, were these two words, “Remember Me.” I’ll never forget you John, Rest In Peace, Love Linda
I was quite sad when Heather told me about John’s passing for many reasons. Mostly because he was so young to leave but I do believe he is in a better place now. Janice I have known you for most of my life and I know with your resilience you will dust yourself off and carry on but will always miss your John. Please know that Peter and I send our deepest condolences to you and the kids and grand kids. It is never easy but hopefully with all this love around you from friends and family, it will lessen the pain. Much love to you dear Janice. God be with you.
We will miss you JB. John was always there to provide support, guidance and even a place to stay when I needed it during my university days. Dorene and I still fondly remember the Christmas eves we spent putting toys together for Scot and Sue. Thank you big brother.
I was saddened to see John’s obituary notice; that’s a great picture, exactly, as I remember him ( the lower one, that is…) The text was right on, too; I knew him mainly through work, and can attest to him being a highly respected civil engineer. Whenever you worked on one of his projects you knew the outcome would be good. I remember in particular going to Kamloops once with him in the early days, and him steering the project back on course after it had experienced more than a couple of hiccups… other managers could well have been struggling; John took it in his stride and steered the project to a successful conclusion.
I knew too he was a keen sailor; hopefully he was able to enjoy the water until relatively recently. You folks certainly lived in the right parts of our great country.
Best regards to you and your family for the future.
Patrick Boulger
A sad loss. My heart goes out to you all. I remember your dad and your mom from your early soccer days. They were always laughing, enjoying each other’s company and obviously devoted to their children. Sad to hear he’s passed.
I worked with John many years ago and he stands out in my memory . He was an excellent engineer and, more importantly, a very good man. We were all lucky to have known him.
Dear Janice, Scot and Sue,
It was with great sadness I heard of John’s passing. John was a stellar man and I had the great pleasure of working with him for many, many years. John was my mentor, and a lot of who I am today can be attributed to him. As an engineer John was one of the best, he and I worked together as an inseparable team at WCT/Delcan until his retirement. We had many social adventures as well, including the annual WCT ski trip to Whistler or Mount Washington. On our work lunch breaks we would whack each other playing racquetball at the YMCA or go for leisurely runs through Beacon Hill Park. John raced Cal 20’s at Oak Bay for a few years and I was lucky enough to crew for him. Following an overnight survey trip to Holberg BC, John taught me everything I needed to know about sailing during the eight hour return drive. That evening I experienced my first sail boat race. We had some great times on the boat, he would supply me with Moose Head toques which I tended to keep losing over the side when we came-about. Our last outing was a ski trip with many of the original group from WCT, we had a wonderful time and John enjoyed himself immensely.
John was my friend.
My sincere condolences to the family.
Larry Parkinson
I was saddened to be advised regarding John’s passing. Being in the New Westminster office of WCT, later Delcan, I never really had the opportunity to work on projects with John but I was very aware of his engineering status and the firm’s appreciation of John’s efforts in aide of his clients and his cohorts.
Please pass on my condolences to John’s family.
Regards,
Dave Kirk
John was an excellent Engineer and an exemplary human being.
I recall our request to WCT/ DelCan to purchase its first Personal Computer. Also, the many enjoyable Engineers ski trips to Mt Washington and Whistler.
My warmest wishes to the family.
Dino Valeri
Janice, Scot and Sue,
I was very shocked and saddened to hear of John’s passing.
John was a special person, always welcoming and smiling. Janice, you and John, had such a great sense of humour together….a wonderful couple. When I remember John, I remember laughing lots because he could always see the funny side of things.
You are in my thoughts at this very difficult time.
Love,
Louise & Ross
Happy memories of John’s summer with us in Rothesay,Lake Yoho,Victoria and over the years.God’s comfort to Janice,Scott,Sue and family.Rus
Sad news last night. We lost a good friend. John was Larry’s mentor all their working years at WCT and Delcan until John left for the East Coast. The next time we saw him we found out he was diagnosed with Dementia. He was just too young for something like that to happen. John was a good friend and well loved by us both, especially Larry. We had so many good… no great times with both him and Janice. All the social events and get togethers, on the dance floor, laughing till we cried. That is the John I remember and I will always think of him with a smile. At least that cannot be taken from us.
My deepest and most sincere condolences to Janice, Scot & Sue.
Love from Cheri
Janice, we were sad to hear of John’s passing. He was a sweet man who we enjoyed very much. Our prayers are with you and your family. Sharon & Don
To Janice and family – our family was so lucky to get to know John that one summer he stayed with us. He blended incredibly well, which had to have been a challenge at the beginning, one of him and 12 of us, but by the end of the summer he was like a brother. My very best to you and your family. Love Margie
To Jan, Scot, Sue and the Grandboys- we all loved John so much and no one will ever know why he had to leave us at such a young age. I will always remember Uncle John as a man that had the purest heart and kindness for all people. His legacy will live on through all of us who knew him as we can all strive to be as kind, hardworking and humble as he was.
I am so grateful for the time I got to spend with John and Jan during their extended stay in Toronto many years ago. Those were truly some of the best belly laughs I have ever had. Jan, over the last 15 years, you have shown us all what a strong woman you are and what a devoted partner should be.
Wish I could be with you guys to toast John. I know he has found a large dance floor somewhere and will be there in spirit with all of you. Love, your niece/cousin Sarah xo
Janice and Family
Julie and I offer our condolences over the loss of John. He was a thorough, dedicated , and very good engineer. He served his employer, fellow workers, and clients with honesty and hard work. He was a gentleman and was very well respected by his peers, colleagues and friends. We will remember him at the next WCT luncheon. Bob and Julie
Jan, Scot and family, my sincere condolences in your recent loss. We did enjoy so very much having you both as neighbours on Dawnview Jan/getting to know you at work Scot. As in your write-up, John was a very fine man and is it sad to say good-bye. Pat