Peacefully at the Sault Area Hospital on Sunday April 19, 2020.
Survived by his sister-in-law Mary. Predeceased by his wife Connie Nault of the Sault, his sister Pauline and twin brother Cyril of Hampstead England and his great friend Mrs E. Baar (Betty) of the Sault. The twins were born in Floriana, Malta in 1925 and christened in the ship’s bell of the great battleship H.M.S. Marlborough, in which their father served. John was educated in England and was trained for the Royal Navy aboard the Antarctic Research ship, H.M.S. Discovery. He was sent on a mission to Holland to locate a survivor of the Dutch underground who had been imprisoned in a concentration camp. After that he went to London University and studied Russian. Later he was posted to Naval Headquarters at Pinner, then sent to Malta, Libya and Algeria. He was then with the Royal Marine Commandos at Ghain Tuffieha and stationed in Northern Ireland at the Naval Air Stations where he flew with the Fleet Air Arm, surviving a mid-air collision with a fighter. At the outbreak of the Korean War he was sent to Hong Kong , Macau and Thailand. He was then transferred to Edinburgh, Scotland and studied Structural Engineering at the Heriot-Watt University. His next appointment was to the Chatham Naval base where he resigned from the Navy to work for British Railroads at Paddington, London. It was the Suez War that caused him to emigrate to North America. He arrived in Toronto, Canada in 1958 via New York. He worked for FENCO who transferred him to the Steel Plant in Sault Ste. Marie. While in the Sault he met Connie Nault of Air Canada and rather than leave the Sault, left FENCO and went to work for the architect Fred Rounthwaite for the next twelve years. He taught for five years at Sault College then left to start his own business which he did until age 70 when he retired. John was a member of the local committee of the Professional Engineer’s Association, the National Academy of Sciences Geophysical Union in the areas of Oceanography and Geodesy, the Institute of Navigation and the Sault Post of the Michigan Society of Military Engineers.
John will be greatly missed by his family in England, the Baar family, Margaret Baar (Bruce Bateman) and David Baar (Dee Brink), Krystyna and Michael Murray and many friends. The families would like to thank his caregivers, Krystyna and Anna for their wonderful care over many years, the staff of Bayshore Home Health and also the doctors and staff of the Sault Area Hospital for their exceptional care while John was in hospital.
A memorial service will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions (payable by cheque or online) to a charity of your choice would be appreciated. Arrangements entrusted to the Arthur Funeral Home - Barton & Kiteley Chapel (492 Wellington St. E 705-759-2522). Please visit Arthur Funeral Home website obituaries to leave memories and condolences as a keepsake for the family.