It is with great sadness that we announce the peaceful passing of our father on Friday January 15th 2021 at the IOOF in Barrie. Whether you knew him by John, Jack or Johnny, the world now seems a little less bright without him. Dad’s exuberance, zest for life and his outrageous sense of humour impacted all of us. He takes with him the knowledge that he was dearly loved by his family, his daughter Cheryl Conrad of Barrie; his son Mark and daughter-in-law Tammie Hanlon of Ft. Erie., grandchildren Wade and Curtis Conrad, Nick, Chantel (Mike) Dalton, Shaylyn (Wojtek) Szczepanski, great grandkids Wesley and Marley Dalton and Sophia Szczepanski. Special Uncle Jack to many nieces and nephews. John is the last of his generation - he asked if he won a prize for outliving everyone but we were the prize winners. He is predeceased by his beautiful bride and favourite dance partner Eleanor (Patton) in 2001, by his parents Peter Hanlon and Edyth Page and step father Bryson Redfern, uncle Sanford Page, sisters Florence Kennedy (Chet), Mildred Ellis (Ernie), in-laws Lloyd and Frances Patton, Harold and Loretta Wood, Ray and Norma Patton, Cleve and Norene Patton and Jack and Jean Seeler.
John was born on the Page farm in Angus on March 3rd 1926. Dad loved the farm and the memories of the farm were his happy place during this past year. John worked at the Angus Seed up until he got married in 1951. Mom and Dad moved to an apartment on Campbell Ave, upstairs from Carl and Frances Brunson. It was a friendship that would last a lifetime which included more than its share of shenanigans. Dad went to work for Carl and Esso and would stay with Esso until retirement. Before Google maps, Dad was our personal gps. He could give you detailed driving instructions to every small town in Ontario and give you the name of the Esso service owner, just in case. In his youth John played hockey and baseball. He coached Legion hockey in Barrie for 10 years. Dad loved watching Mark and then Wade and Curtis play hockey and was a fixture along the glass at many arenas, usually yelling at the referees. Never being politically correct, his lack of filter added to his character - and he truly was a character.
John’s hobby was socializing with family, friends, neighbours and even strangers. If not at home we could always find him on someone’s front step or garage. It took a village to keep Johnny in his home up until 2 years ago and for that we thank all his neighbours and friends on Thorncrest Rd. Dad was a strong, hard working man that instilled in us a great work ethic. He would tell us to never leave a job unless you had another to go to and never turn down overtime. Dad loved to laugh and joke, tell stories that were mostly true, eat pie with every meal, going to the court house with Ab Bowen, Woods Old Navy Rum, beer (whatever was on sale as said they all tasted the same), the waves at Wasaga Beach on a really windy day, Oldsmobile’s, the rusty tools in his garage and pulling pranks. He was born into a family that were fun loving and he married into the Patton family, we don’t need to say more. In this time of COVID we are unable to gather and tell John stories so we encourage anyone to share a story on this site. On our own we need to celebrate the man that he was and thank him for his kindness and comfort that he always provided, for the wisdom he shared, for the marathon conversations about nonsense and especially for his dazzling wit and humour.
We should celebrate the life of a truly adaptable man. Having lost most of his eyesight in 2008, John amazed us everyday by living on his own, never complaining. Whatever hardship Dad endured he would still laugh and carry on. Inspirational. We celebrate the caregivers who treated John with respect and dignity. Dr. McConvey, the staff at Roberta Place Lodge, the nurses at RVH Surgical 2 who looked after Dad throughout the COVID lockdown and the angels at IOOF Kempenfelt Court. Dad loved kids and would be pleased for donations to Jumpstart or Operation Smile if so desired. Or just be a good neighbour, Johnny would like that. We hope John is in a place where the sky is blue, the grass is green, the waves are high and the sun shines everyday on his smiling face. Private family graveside service will take place Stayner Union Cemetery.