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JOHN JAMES MORTIMER
Date of Passing: Apr 23, 2023
Send Flowers to the Family Offer Condolences or MemoryJOHN JAMES MORTIMER
John James Mortimer passed away peacefully on April 23, 2023, at Johnson Memorial Hospital, in Gimli Manitoba, at the age of 99 years and 10 months.
He was predeceased by his father, William Christie Mortimer, and his mother, Mae Elizabeth Mortimer (nee Teskey), brother Norman (Marion), sisters Patricia and Mary; wife, Hazel Agnes Mortimer (nee McDonald), and daughter-in-law Josette.
John is survived by his sons, William (Monika) of Sindelfingen Germany and Gordon of Vancouver British Columbia, and daughters, Carol (Terry) and Alanna (Daniel) of Winnipeg Manitoba.
John has twelve grandchildren: Christopher, Peter, Thomas, Dylan, Lee Ann, Jayme, TJ, Carly, Mia, Garrett, Kara, Jared; and eight great-grandchildren: Emma, Avery, Lennon, Hazel, Ivy, Talia, Ellie, Sophia.
John was born in Winnipeg, June 10, 1923. He attended Grosvenor School and graduated from Kelvin High School. He enjoyed playing hockey and was invited to the New York Rangers’ training camp. John was proud of building the Crestwood Community Center. He served in the Canadian Navy during the Second World War, escorting ships from Canada to the mid-Atlantic. After returning home from the Navy, he worked at his father’s wholesale dry goods company, Western Veiling; He eventually took over the company and ran the business until his retirement. He joined the Khartum Shrine as a clown named “Buttons”, driven by their charitable support for the Crippled Children’s Hospital. John enjoyed building, always working on some “project”, whether at his place or at a friend’s. He enjoyed volunteering at the Gimli Humane Society, installing new fences, ramps, and enclosures.
John and Hazel were happily married for 38 years. They travelled to Montreal, Vancouver, Victoria, Hawaii, Alaska, Colorado, and Europe. After his wife passed away, he moved to Sandy Hook, Manitoba, where he has been a resident for 25 years. He enjoyed his favourite place, his “Nature Room”, overlooking Lake Winnipeg, enjoying a coffee and visiting with family and friends.
We thank Matthew McKelvey and the team at Interlake East Regional Health Authority for their kind and generous support. We are grateful to Dennis Fancy (Home Care Assistance) for stepping up to arrange live-in assistance for Grampa and for the caring support Dorothy, Iryna, Kelley, Nancy, and Cecelia provided, which allowed Grampa to spend his final years in his home safely and comfortably. We thank the staff at Johnson Memorial Hospital for making his final days peaceful.
We recognize Shorty’s 25-year friendship with Fred, a fellow Sandy Hooker. If they weren’t working together at their places, they were helping neighbours or looking for their next story and laugh.
We recognize the long friendships John enjoyed with Margaret, Brian and Marcia, and Larry, and the many people who would stop and talk along the lane.
We appreciate the kindness of Mrs. Vi Cvitkovitch and her son Ken who regularly visited Grampa, and always brought something, like pie and soup, and a lifetime of stories.
There will be a memorial gathering at Johnson Hall in the Waterfront Center at 94 First Avenue in Gimli on Thursday, May 4 at 11:00 AM. Lunch will be served. John will be buried at Glen Eden Cemetery in St. Andrew’s.
His great-grandchildren called him “GG” (great-grandfather), his grandchildren called him “grampa” or “papa”, his children called him “dad”, and his friends called him “John”, “Johnny” or “Shorty”. As John would often say, “You can call me what you want, as long as you call me for dinner”.
As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Apr 29, 2023
Condolences & Memories (1 entries)
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We first met John and Hazel when we bought their house. For what ever reason the 4 of us took an instant liking to each other. They would come by to pick up mail and John insisted he teach Garry how to care for the pool properly, we'd sit and have coffee and chat awhile. This continued when we bought our cottage which happened to be on 16th down the lane from John Garry was loading the car and heard someone say is that you Garry it was John. If we were at the lake he would come by and stop and have coffee and a chat. A funny antidote of all the times we'd had coffee together one time one of my lake neighbors said she ran into Mr. Mortimer at the post office and informed him we weren't down that week his reply was whose that. He was such a character. John and Hazel were such caring people and will forever remain in our memory with the highest regard. God Bless you all. - Posted by: Garry and Frances Haydaman (Friendly acquaintances) on: Apr 30, 2023
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