Obituary of John (Jack) Allan White

WHITE: John (Jack) Allan White, beloved husband of the late Shirley White, passed away at the Brandon Regional Health Centre on Friday, May 30, 2014 at the age of 83 years. Jack was born on December 9, 1930 at Albermarle Township, Bruce County, Ontario. He leaves to mourn his passing his loving family: daughter Brenda (Dean) Hill, son Brent (Rae), granddaughters Denny, Haley, Erin, Kaitlyn and Meghan, 12 great-grandchildren, brother Tom, sister Anne and many nieces and nephews. Jack was predeceased by his wife Shirley, brothers Jim, Drury and Bob, sisters Betty and Dell and a great-granddaughter, Shaylynn. Jack and Shirley were married December 10, 1955 and were blessed with two children. Jack came to Manitoba from Ontario in the fall of 1938 with his father, mother and seven brothers and sisters. The youngest brother, Tom, was born in Manitoba. Life was not always easy for Jack since he had lost his left foot in a hay mower accident at the age of 3 ½ years. This adversity only made him more determined to do everything a young person would do. Jack worked at various occupations from truck driver, dragline operator, oilfield roughneck, lumber yardman, for a cabinet shop and then to his natural ability, carpentry. He worked for the Department of National Defence for 30 years, first as a carpenter, then as an estimator/spec writer and the last 13 years as the engineering officer. During this time at CFB Shilo, Jack was awarded the Queen's Silver Jubilee Medal and he attributed this achievement more to his co-workers than to his own efforts. Although Jack retired in January of 1987, that did not end his working days. After two years of holidays on Vancouver Island, he returned to Souris, MB and for 7 years, together with his wife Shirley and brother Tom, owned and maintained a country acreage. Jack set up his own shop and pursued his hobby of restoring and refinishing antiques, finally retiring to Brandon in 1997, mostly due to health reasons. Jack has always believed that what you get out of life is what you put into it. In keeping with Jack's wishes, cremation has taken place and a private family graveside service will be held at the Rivers Cemetery where he will be laid to rest beside his wife, Shirley. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the War Amps of Canada, Key Tag Service, 1 Maybrook Drive, Scarborough, ON, M1V 5K9 or to a charity of choice.