Jack passed away peacefully on Thursday Dec. 22, 2011 at Glenwood Care Home in Agassiz. He has gone home to be with the Lord.
He was born in Russia, April 10, 1920, and at age 7 moved to Canada with his parents. They farmed in
Indian Head Saskatchewan until 1935, then moved to St. Rose Manitoba and continued farming. It was here that he was baptized in the Baptist Church.
He moved to Chilliwack, B.C. in 1947 where he became a member of the Broadway Church, where he was involved in taking care of he sound system for many years.
As a child he always tinkered with electronics. After his last year of school (grade 8) he completed a few mail order electronic courses. This prepared him for his career in electronics. He started working for Oscar Cheeks in Chilliwack as an electronics repairman.
He met Mary Pauls in December 1949. She had just graduated from St. Pauls Hospital as a registered nurse and had started a new job at the Chilliwack General Hospital. They dated and were married on August 6, 1950. By 1954 the couple had opened their own business, Unruh’s Electronics.
Mary chose to quit nursing to help with the business right from the start. Business was challenging and many evenings he was doing service calls to finish the day's work.
On many nights the kids went on these service calls together. He sold the business to his daughter Shirley in 1981.
Jack loved playing golf at Kinkora Golf Course with his buddies. He was an avid fisherman and enjoyed the countless hours trolling Loon Lake and catching the limit for the day.
Jack and Mary loved traveling the world with their many friends. Family was very important to Jack. He was a good father and adored his grandchildren.
He is survived by his wife Mary of 61 years of marriage, his children Les (Kory) Unruh; Shirley (Rich Mole) Unruh: Pat (Bruce) Anderson; Gerald (Rozlyn) Unruh; Lynda (Bob) MacInnis; grandchildren Mark, Michel, Jasmine, Beth, Jennifer, Matthew, Kara, Benjamin, Natasha, Chad and Megan; four great-grandchildren; and sister Mary.
He was predeceased by his parents, Benjamin and Meta Unruh; brothers Henry, John and his sisters Nettie and Sarah.
A special thank you goes out to Dr. MacIntosh and the wonderful caring staff at Glenwood Care Home.
A memorial service will be held at Chilliwack Broadway Church, Thursday December 29, 2011. If desired, donations may be made to MCC.