About John

I'm 97 and I've survived cancer.  

This is me shopping for Christmas decorations in Toronto pre-COVID; I was 95 in this photo. We had to decorate our new home at the Bradgate Arms.  

Unlike some men, I enjoy shopping - after all, I spent most of my career as a retail executive with the Hudson's Bay Company.  I joined The Bay after graduating University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Commerce in 1948.

I met Trudy at The Bay in Edmonton. I was a management trainee and

she worked in personnel. 

 I thought she was cute, so I found out  her name was Gertrude. Next time I saw her, I said, "Hello, Gertie!"  I was lucky she ever spoke to me again.  

"It's Trudy" I was told.

I was born in Pembroke - but my family moved to Toronto when I was 10.  I sold programs at Maple Leaf Gardens as a kid - and I've always been a Leafs fan!  I went to Oakwood Collegiate and joined the Air Force in WWII when I was 17.  I could fly a plane before I could drive a car.  

In August, Trudy and I will have been married for 69 years!