It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our husband, father, brother, grandfather and dear friend, John (Jack) Waldron on April 30, 2019. After a brief illness, he passed away peacefully, with his family by his side at the St. Boniface Hospital, at the age of 87.

He was predeceased by his first wife Margie and second wife Evelyn.  Left behind to cherish his memories are his loving wife of 18 years, Dorothy and her family; his children, Michael (Tracy), Lynn (Dick), Kathy and Laurie; his grandchildren, Jonathan, Jennifer (Mark), Chérie (Randy), Aimée (Cam), Daniel (Stacy), Rachel (Dave) and Mathew, and his great-grandchildren Alex, Janae, Madeline, Ethan, Dax, Zeke and Dezeray. He also leaves his sister Noreen and his cousin whom he referred to as the brother he never had, John (Mary).

 

Jack was born in Saskatoon and was a business graduate of the University of Saskatchewan. He showed his physical prowess by becoming a badminton champion at an early age, and he later showed that same competitive streak when he won an election for President of the Junior Chamber of Commerce for Saskatchewan. At university he met and married Margie, and they were blessed with three children while living in Saskatoon. They chose to move to Winnipeg for a career opportunity, and after arriving their family became complete with their fourth child. 

Jack had a lengthy career in insurance and through hard work he was continually promoted until he became the President of Canadian Premier Life Insurance Company. When the decision was made to move their head offices to Toronto, Jack chose to remain in Winnipeg, and left the company. He was then fortunate to lead Child and Family Services as Executive Director before retiring for good at 60 years of age. He was proud to be a member of the Manitoba Club and honed his skills there as a champion snooker player. A winner’s plaque with his name can still be found in the club today - his name remains as a record holder. 

After his first wife died, he found love a second time and married Evelyn Kressock. He lost her to cancer but gained a wonderful new step family. Dad appreciated the companionship offered by marriage, and so he found love a third time with Dorothy. Dorothy and Jack have been happily married for 18 years. He was blessed to have found her and their love for each other is everlasting. They spent their winters in Las Vegas and their summers in Winnipeg with lots of other travelling in between. He found someone that likes keno & slots as much as he did.

A few of his favourite indulgences included his Cadillac, video games, anything sweet, playing bridge and enjoying a good scotch or even a martini. He loved classical music but also the greats like Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. Ella Fitzgerald and Judy Garland. He enjoyed Broadway shows and he was a regular guest at Rainbow Stage. He loved art including Monet, Turner and Fragonard. He would always enjoy sports on TV but baseball, hockey and basketball were his favourites or cheering on Canada in the Olympics. When Saskatchewan Roughriders played the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, we knew Jack and Dorothy were cheering for opposite teams. A few of the people he held the highest regard for include Winston Churchill, John Grisham, Dick Francis, John Diefenbaker, Lester Pearson and Julia Child. Jack was an avid traveller spending many years travelling around the world in his retirement. He was also a Trekkie! 

Jack was one of life’s true gentlemen. He was kind and had an amazing sense of humour. He was very intelligent and well respected, and he will be deeply missed by all who cared for him. It was important to him that we remember he had a good life.

Friends and relatives are encouraged to share in stories and condolences for the family by commenting in the comment section.

Funeral service will be held at 2:00 p.m., Monday, May 13, 2019 at the St. John’s Cathedral, 135 Anderson Ave. with a reception to follow in the basement hall of the church.  A private, family, interment of his ashes will follow the service.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Jack’s memory can be made to CancerCare Manitoba in honour of his first wife Margie, second wife Evelyn and both his daughters Kathy and Laurie, who all battled cancer.

 

The family would like to express their sincere gratitude to the kind staff at the St. Boniface Hospital who provided excellent care for Jack.