John Dennis Middleton

John, aka “the Old Man”, was a character, who lived life in his own way; he never shied away from hard work, and he loved music, good food, cooking, dancing, travelling, and having friends and family around him. He was an intelligent man with a big heart; and he did his best to love and be loved, and support his family and friends.

Survived by his sister Mary Jane (Louie), his sons Dennis and Cyrano (Bianca), daughter Selchie, grandchildren Brooke (Dane), Aurora, Eli, Sara and Kiona, his great grandchildren Ivy and Kashton, his nieces Sandra and Heather, and many friends.

John was born in Sarnia, Ontario, and worked as a store owner, on pipeline construction, in a petrochemical plant, as a bank teller, in the military reserves, as a diver/fisherman with his own boat the Mymare, a faller/horse logger, a truck driver, in underwater construction, and as a red seal carpenter. John also obtained a degree in Sociology from the University of Western Ontario, as well as lots of trades and paramedic training, and a diploma is GIS mapping.

John was very proud of his service as a volunteer firefighter and first responder in both the Gabriola and Cowichan Bay firehalls, and will be forever remembered as “Rambo” by that community, after a certain incident of his knife flying high out of his boot sheath, and sticking upright in the floor during a particularly rigorous dance move he was showing off.

When John settled in the cowichan valley in 1987, he became very active in politics, the carpenters union, and the labour council. He was a staunch supporter of the NDP at both provincial and federal levels; was a social justice, environmental and democracy activist; and was elected as Area Director for Cobble Hill. In this capacity, he was instrumental in creating an avenue for developers to contribute to local parks acquisitions during development approvals, and through this, he was very proud of his role in the creation of Manly Creek Park in Cobble Hill.

Special thanks to Dr. Hargrove, who went above and beyond, and also to Dr. Sohn, who always provided thoughtful care; they both helped John stay at home as long as possible the way he wanted.

John was very fond of his land in Cobble Hill, and the recycled house he set up there; as he aged at home, he loved puttering around the property, sunbathing on the deck he built, gloating over the free electricity from his solar system, and running errands with his electric car that was not “polluting the air that his grand kids needed to breathe”. Johns love of life and his drive to be a productive member of his community was cut short by dementia. He had a good run, and at almost 84, his death was a blessing, as it freed him of a body that no longer worked the way he wanted it to. He will be missed, and his huge laugh not easily forgotten.

A gathering to remember and celebrate Johns life will be held at his home in Cobble Hill on Wednesday July 16th at 1 pm. Contact Selchie at 250.710.6573 for further information.