Obituary of John Joseph Church

It is with deep sadness that the family of John Joseph Church announces his passing on December 30, 2020, after a brief illness. John was born on February 16, 1939 in North Bay, Ontario. In 1958, John moved to Fredericton, NB to attend the University of New Brunswick. While studying at UNB, John was set up on a blind date with his future wife, Rosemary Crawford. At this point, his fate was pleasantly sealed, and he would never return to reside in Ontario. After graduating with a degree in Forestry, John took a teaching position in Oromocto, NB. This established his trajectory as a lifelong educator, moving to Principal, and eventually to School Superintendent of (former) Districts 24 & 25. John was always up for an adventure and loved to travel at every opportunity. Over the years, he enjoyed skiing, flying (pilot’s license), amateur (Ham) radio, hiking, camping, and always kept up with the latest gadgets of technology. He was an avid runner for many years and completed both the Boston and New York marathons. John was a member of Devon Park Baptist Church, where he served as Sunday School Superintendent and led the Boys’ Brigade. He was also a member of The Gideons. After his retirement from public education, John served in a volunteer capacity as interim principal at the former Devon Park Christian School (Fredericton Christian Academy). John was predeceased by his parents Hubert and Isabel (Lee) Church. He was also predeceased by his beloved Rosemary in 2011. John is survived by his daughter MaryBeth Wilson (Peter) of Fredericton, NB, and his son Doug Church (John Hamers) of Toronto, ON, as well as grandchildren Taylor Monteith (Christian), Christian Wilson, and Danae Wilson of Fredericton, NB. He is also survived by one brother, William Church (Robert Hale; Boston) of North Bay, ON. John will be greatly missed and always remembered for his ever-positive outlook and "never-quit" attitude, which impacted many people. There was a graveside memorial service at 2:00 pm on Friday, June 4th, 2021 at the Fredericton Rural Cemetery Extension, 395 Woodstock Road. The service will be officiated by Rev. Derek Jones. For those who wish, his graveside service may be watched at the following link: https://youtu.be/duPbGE56jHU John’s Pallbearers will be: Peter Wilson Malcolm Thomas Terry Carr John Ryan Paul Campbell Matthew "Prem" Premkumar John's memorial tribute video may be watched at this link: https://youtu.be/NPstvPtN0Q8 . For those who wish, a donation may be made in memoriam to the charity of the donor’s choice.