John Leroy Bassingthwaite

John passed away in Duncan Hospital after a very brief illness. He leaves to mourn his

partner, Mercy Best, a sister, Margaret (Thiessen), nephews and nieces and their

families. He was predeceased by his late wife, Eleanor Lockhart, in 2014, as well as

siblings Albert, Neil, and Judy (Haryung).

He was born at Meeting Lake, SK. During his early school years until Grade 8, once his

chores were done and the cows milked, he was in charge of gathering wood and

lighting the stove in the school room so it would be warm when the children and teacher

arrived. He took Grade 9 by Correspondence, was finished by Christmas, but had to

wait till June to write his exams, so he decided instead to go work with his brothers in

construction building elevators around the province, erecting security fences in the far

north.

Moving to Winnipeg, he became a long distance hauler and logged many miles across

Canada and the US (the only states he did not cross into were Texas and Hawaii) over

his 25 years. He recounted that the longest time he was away was 21 days. He could

tell you where he went, and what he hauled from place to place. He had a brilliant

memory for even the most obscure names of places, no matter which province or state.

Similarly, he could remember names of people and where they were from.

Then he became a commercial real estate agent for 23 years, making many friends

along the way. He retired in 2015, and moved to Vancouver Island. At that point he

changed hats from “selling“ to “buying”, and together with Mercy, they invested in 5

revenue condos, and developed excellent relationships with each tenant, never having

any issues. He served on several strata councils at various times during his 10 years on

the island, both in our own strata, as well as one where we owned a rental property,

wanting to make them a better place to live.

His favorite place to be was in Mesa, AZ where he spent time over the last 36 years,

first during school Christmas and Easter breaks while Eleanor was teaching. Later he

was able to spend more time there as his work allowed. After retirement he spent 5

months each year enjoying the sun and fun. He served on the Fountain East Residents

Association Board for 2 years. His favorite activities and pastimes included golfing and

oldtime dancing, so much so that almost every day was busy with something. He

volunteered on the Po.L.K.ofA board ( Polka Lovers Club of America) two years. He

loved serving water and ice to the dancers, and enjoyed meeting all the great people

from all over USA and Canada, considering some of them among his closest friends.

With delight he wore the Po.L.K.ofA shirt with the slogan, “Skip the Nursing Home, Die

Dancing”.

John loved strumming his guitar, and singing some of his favourite songs, notably

“Fraulein”, a tribute to his dear Eleanor. His genre of choice was Country Western, the

oldies and goodies, bar none. He would tolerate others but not for long.

There wasn’t much he couldn’t fix, the envy of many. John loved renovating and

painting. Being a perfectionist, he took pride in doing it well. During his years in

Winnipeg he would sometimes spend all weekend painting, and then on Monday jump

back in his suit, tie and dress shoes, and go sell real estate. He renovated and/or

painted all five units that he owned over the years in Mesa, as well as many of his

homes in Manitoba and British Columbia.

He loved each of his vehicles, and they were usually big cars! Over the years he owned

eight Grand Marquis, and felt it significant that he owned the last model made in

Canada (2006), as well as the last one made in the USA (2011). He struggled with the

decision to get rid of the last one, and finally took the plunge last July. Amazingly he

never regretted that decision.

John’s health became very important to him later in life, and began a walking regimen

up and down the hills of Vancouver Island. He was able to survive Lymes Disease and

its residual fungus infection in 2018-2019 through alternative treatments, and almost

completely regained his vitality. His diet became his focus as he realized how impactful

it was to his overall health.

He was a member of the Royal Canadian Legion for 28 years, and last year volunteered

as cook in the kitchen.

Thank you to the doctors, nurses, and other medical personnel who cared for him

during his last days.

An informal Celebration of Life will be held at Arbutus Ridge in Cobble Hill, BC on

September 5, 2025 at 2 pm, and in Winnipeg at the Royal Canadian Legion 215, 215

Maxwell King Dr, East St. Paul on September 22, 2025 at 2 pm. A similar event will

also be held at Fountain East Mobile Home Park, 303 S. Recker Rd, Mesa, AZ at a

later date.

Donations in lieu of flowers may be made to the Legion Poppy fund, either:

In the Poppy bucket at the Celebration, or

through your local legion:

RCL134 Malahat, Shawnigan Lake, BC, https://malahatlegion.ca/, or

RCL 215 Henderson, Winnipeg, https://hendersonlegion.ca,

thereby benefitting the veterans and their families in your community,

or online nationally:

https://legion.ca/donations