STEWART; John (Jack, Jake) O'Neil
March 4, 1932 - November 26, 2016
It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Jack.
Born in Stratford, Ontario, he passed at his Chilliwack home with his family at his side after a short battle with ALS. He was a 30 year veteran of the Royal Canadian Air Force, an avid music lover and square dancer. Jack is survived by his wife of 57 years Madeline, son Shawn (Wendy), son Quentin (Heather), and son from a previous marriage Stephen (Amber), 6 grandchildren, beloved Ontario relatives and nieces and nephews. Celebration of Life to be held at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch #280 on December 9th at 12:00 Noon at 5661 Vedder Road, Chilliwack, BC V2R 3N5.
Our dad wrote down his afterlife thoughts two years ago in rhyme simply because he often enjoyed the hobby of writing in rhyme:
I was never a Christian certainly not to the letter
In fact church-going to me the less was the better
And dying, of course, never gave it much thought
Why think about things that tend to distraught?
My pride of our sons and a perfect wife
Were my ultimate memories at the end of my life
But I've never thought about heaven that much
Nor hell, or the devil, or evil as such.
And, dying - of course, no one alive knows
What really happens when our eyes finally close
Does our spirit drift off to some heavenly place
Or, wander around in the vastness of space?
Is it truly a spirit that gives life to us all,
Or some biological happening that by chance we befall?
And animals and bees and even the flowers
Are those lives.. really.. less meaningful than ours?
The eternal question is what happens at death
Which I recently discovered when I took my last breath
A mystery - the answer which then I learned too
That is only revealed when it happens to you.
~ John (Jack, Jake) O'Neil Stewart