MAJOR JOHN J. H. CONNORS (RETIRED) C.D., M.I.D., LL.B., M.H.A., F.R.S.H.

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MAJOR JOHN J. H. CONNORS (RETIRED) C.D., M.I.D., LL.B., M.H.A., F.R.S.H. June 27, 1918 - May 6, 2011 THE MAJOR , approaching his 93rd birthday in June, passed peacefully, mid-day, at The Empress Kanata Retirement Residence on Friday, May 6, 2011. He is survived by his sons, John J. G. Connors (and Colleen Ionson) of Stoney Creek, ON, and Michael A. Connors of Nanaimo, BC; by his grandchildren, Sean (and Laura), Curtis (and Tamara), Christopher (and Minerva), Christina (and Fred), Matthew, Catherine and Grant; and by two great-grandchildren, Alexandra and Gryphon. Also, he is survived by his sister-in-law, Rose (Goodall) Gage, by his daughters-in-law Lydia (Doucet) Langevin and Marianne (Zobel) Connors, by his son-in-law, Derek Nicholls (and Kelly) and by many nieces, nephews and cousins in Canada, the USA and Australia. Born to a war bride in England, The Major was raised in Erinsville, Tamworth and Kingston, becoming a boy soldier in the P.W.O.R., then joining The R.C.R. before the Second World War. He rebadged R.C.A.M.C. shortly before the Second World War serving as a field ambulance officer on the battlefields from the Normandy landings through to Germany, then as chief Canadian Black Market Military Prosecutor in Belgium. He served as a post war Staff Officer in England, the USA, at the Medical School in Camp Borden and the Surgeon General's offices in N.D.H.Q., Ottawa. Major John Connors was later a civilian Catholic healthcare leader, educator and consultant in Manitoba and nationally. He is predeceased by his wife of 50 years, Doreen Mary (Goodall) Connors in 1989; daughters Maureen Anne Theresa (Connors) Nicholls, in 1992, and Dorothy Rosamund Connors in 1943; by his mother Nora (Hayward) Connors in 1925; his sister Dorothy Mary Margaret Levina Connors in 1941; his father, John Joseph Connors, a First World War veteran, in 1960; and his brothers-in-law, Franklin Goodall, KIA in Normandy 1941, and by both Stanley Goodall and Frederick Robert Gage in 2010. Our thanks to his regular visitors (Legion of Mary, Royal Canadian Legion, Church Choir) and family and friend caregivers during his last months and, particularly, to his many professional caregivers at the Empress Kanata, the Champlain Community Care Access Centre, and Veterans Affairs Canada. VISITATION: The family will receive friends at the KELLY FUNERAL HOME, 580 EAGLESON RD., KANATA, ON, (613-591-6580) www.kellyfh.ca on WEDNESDAY, MAY 11, 2011, 1300 to 1600 and 1700 to 1900. FUNERAL MASS THURSDAY, MAY 12, 2011, (1030 to 1130) at HOLY REDEEMER ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, KANATA, INTERMENT: at ASSUMPTION CEMETERY, ERINSVILLE at 1530. If desired, memorial gifts might be Mass Card Offerings, and THE MAJOR'S expressed wishes for donations were: ACTIONLIFE OTTAWA (613-798-4494); www.actionlife.org/ and CAMPAIGN LIFE COALITION (613-729-0379); www.campaignlifecoalition.com/ The final lines of his, as yet, unpublished autobiography, THE STORY OF AN UNREMARKABLE CANADIAN read, I will be content if those who knew me can but say: He served his God not always well, but always with love. REQUIESCAT IN PACE / REST IN PEACE.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on May 09, 2011