As a child, John enjoyed baseball and skiing down the village street. At Winkler (Man.) Bible Institute, John played guitar and sang in music groups and received a passion to further the gospel through the MB church. He married Sophie, whom he dated secretly in Bible school. After normal school, John began his 35-year teaching career in Grunthal, Man., in 1957, finishing at Garden Valley Collegiate, Winkler, in 1992. John took summer school at the universities of Manitoba and North Dakota, but dreamed of going to an MB school. In 1971, he graduated from Tabor College, Hillsboro, Kan., with a business administration degree and began teaching accounting at W.C. Miller Collegiate, Altona, Man. John served Winkler on town council 1975–1992 and as mayor 1992–1998. In 1999, John was appointed chairman of the South Central Regional Health Authority. His dream, to build a regional hospital, became reality with the opening of Boundary Trails Health Centre in 2001. John encouraged the church to support MB conference initiatives. A member of the Manitoba MB board of reference and council and Winkler MB Church’s council, John also worked on the formation of CMU. John and Sophie loved to camp, travelling from Vancouver to Cape Breton. His health declined in the last 6 months of 2013. Passionate about God, family, structure, church and community, John’s bottom line was “How can I serve?”
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