Obituary of John Andrew

JOHN DAVID ANDREW John slipped away in the devoted care and loving presence of his wife Frances and son John Jr. on Friday, March 15, 2013, following a long period of declining health. John was born April 16, 1921 in Glasgow, Scotland, the youngest child of Hugh and Mary (nee Burns). He is predeceased by his brothers Matthew (Bishop Agnellus Andrew O.F.M.), Hugh, Edward, Bernard and sister Mercedes. He grew up in Glasgow and was educated at St. Aloysius College. He played football up to a high level and enjoyed cycling with his brothers along the Clyde coast and through Ayrshire. His youth and education were interrupted by the onset of WWII. He joined the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve as an ordinary seaman and was stationed at HMS Raleigh, the naval training base in Plymouth. There he survived the blitz of the Devonport dockyards in April 1941, which took the lives of most of his comrades. John quickly rose to become an officer and was assigned to Combined Operations, operating assault landing craft. He was particularly proud of his work with the commandos at the December 1941 raid on Vaagso, Norway and on later missions along the coast of France. John's next duties were aboard HMS Orchis with the B-3 mid-Atlantic convoy escort group. In July 1943, after the loss of HMS Harvester, the ship he was about to join, John was ordered to Collingwood, Ontario to commission the corvette HMS Statice. During that time he met Frances Smith, a young McGill student, who became the love of his life. John was transferred to the Channel area for the invasion of Normandy and he continued to serve past the end of the war, until his discharge in July 1946. He resumed his studies at the London School of Economics until awarded an Ajax Scholarship to attend McGill University. John and Frances married on August 1, 1947 and moved to Montreal, which became their home for the next 61 years. Graduating from McGill with a B. Comm. in 1949, John began his career in the pulp and paper industry, initially with the Canadian Pulp and Paper Association and then Consolidated Paper Company, where he spent most of his working career as a senior sales executive, including the last four years in London as Managing Director of Consolidated Bathurst Overseas Limited. Notwithstanding his "official" retirement in 1986, he continued with the industry for a further five years as Chairman of the Offshore Newsprint Association. Through John's work he and Fran made many close friends in the pulp and paper industry in Canada and abroad. His work also brought him close to the Canadian wilderness and gave him the opportunity to develop and pursue his passion for fly fishing, which he did with great skill in the trout lakes of northern Quebec, the salmon rivers along the Gulf of St. Lawrence and, especially, on his beloved Anticosti Island. Frances, often the only woman, frequently accompanied him and they carried on an intense but good-natured rivalry to prove who was the superior fisher(wo)man. John and Frances enjoyed extensive travels throughout Europe and around the world, and happy times in Tucker's Town, Bermuda, where they spent the winter months for many years. Uncle John will be deeply missed and fondly remembered by many nieces and nephews, especially Maria Stapleton, who held a very special place in his heart. He had a wonderful sense of humour and a gentle, dignified manner. However strict and stern he pretended to be, he was a soft touch and doting "Grandpaw" to John and Katherine's succession of unruly and overindulged golden retrievers, Ranger, Bailey and Chase, much as he had been with his own Buffer and Linus. John's family will receive friends at the HUMPHREY FUNERAL HOME A.W. MILES CHAPEL LIMITED, 1403 Bayview Avenue (south of Davisville Avenue) from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. on Friday, March 22. A funeral service with be held in the chapel on Saturday, March 23 at 11:00 a.m., with a reception to follow. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Montreal General Hospital, Mount Sinai Hospital or Ontario Veterinary College would be appreciated. Condolences and memories may be forwarded through www.humphreymiles.com.