Obituary of John Botsford

JOHN ERNEST BOTSFORD

(October 16, 1940 – June 29, 2018)

John died suddenly, at his home in Toronto, on Friday, June 29, 2018, leaving to mourn his wife, Julie, his son, Deke (Jaclyn), his grandson, Griffin, his brother Jack (Susan), his nephew Alex (Maggie) and many other family members and friends.

John graduated from the University of Toronto as a Mechanical Engineer and had a long, varied and interesting career with IBM during the early evolution of modern computing.  Through his career he made many good friends with whom he remained close into retirement.

Because, at the time, his parents lived in isolated mining communities in the Canadian North, John spent his high school years at St. John’s Ravenscourt School in Winnipeg.  He spoke fondly of these days, where he developed lifelong friends and a love of team sports, at which he excelled.  When the family moved to Toronto, he completed High School at Leaside High, where again, longstanding friendships and football were prominent.

John’s mother Amy (Stigant) was from western Canada, so family connections with his western family were a formative part of his life.  He will be sadly missed by his remaining cousin Beverley Conley in Winnipeg.  He also loved his trips to Newfoundland to visit his brother and leaves friends behind there as well.

John was a person who always gave more than he took, who always put other people first and who especially cherished his grandson, Griffin.  He was deservedly proud of all of his family and took special care of each in his own way.  He was a talented photographer and shared his knowledge with young kids as a “senior” volunteer in after-school programs.

Among the many people who loved him, he leaves behind a special friend, Linda Saask, now in her 100^th year, who shared with him her wisdom, humour and insight over weekly glasses of beer.  She will miss him deeply, as will we all.

As his mother used to call him, dear Johnny, goodbye.

The family will receive friends at the HUMPHREY FUNERAL HOME A.W. MILES – NEWBIGGING CHAPEL, 1403 Bayview Avenue (south of Davisville Avenue) from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Monday, July 23^rd.  A service will be held in the chapel on Tuesday, July 24^th at 11:00 a.m. with a reception to follow the service.  Condolences, photographs and memories may be forwarded through www.humphreymilesnewbigging.com.