May 1, 1931 — April 26, 2024
It was with much sadness that I recently learned of the passing of John Penelton in April of last year. He was my father’s first cousin and the only son of my grandaunt, Ruby Warner, and her husband, George Carman Penelton.
Predeceased by his beloved wife Mary-Lou (Wilson), John’s wishes were fulfilled as he died peacefully at home surrounded by his family on Friday, April 26, 2024 in his 93rd year. Proud father of Ian (Tracy) and Paul (Cathy). Loving grandfather of Samantha, Brooklyn, and Kennedy.
Born in Montreal on May 1, 1931, to parents Carman and Ruby Penelton, John spent his professional career as a salesman first for Avon Products, then for W.E Coutts Co. (which later became Hallmark) and retired in 2009 as an Aventi rep.
Throughout his life John made Montreal; Saint John, NB; Dartmouth, Nova Scotia and finally Ottawa home with his wife and sons. John a proud Canadian, enjoyed travelling, Jazz, reading (geographical & historical), and more recently his many social activities of card games and bingo. John was an avid bird watcher who could name the nineteen species who visited his deck daily.
A unique and creative person, affectionately known as GPJ around the farm, John has left a space in our lives where he filled it with entertaining and interesting memories.
Special thanks for the kindness of the ROSSS PSW team and the St. Elizabeth’s nurses who visited and made John’s final days comfortable.
I had the pleasure of meeting John only three times.
The first was in the summer of 1953 when he (the handsome young man on the right) and his first cousin, my aunt Betty Warner (the strikingly beautiful young woman on the left) took me (the toddler in the middle) to the Canadian National Exhibition.
The second time was sixty-one years later, in 2014, when my wife Ruth and I visited him at his home near Ottawa. My side of the family had long lost touch with his, but I had had some luck in tracking him down in the course my genealogical research. When I reached him by telephone, he welcomed the contact and invited us to come see him.
He was also kind enough to loan me an album full of precious old photographs, which I took back to Toronto for scanning. This family website wouldn’t be what it is without his generosity. The two photos in this post came from that album.
Our third and final encounter was a few years later, when Ruth and I again planned a road trip to Ottawa, and stopped in to see John again, and to return his photo album.
Ruth and I extend our sincere condolences from our branch of the family to John’s.
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