John Charles EDWARDS

Jack Edwards passed away peacefully, at Surrey, BC, following a 5-year battle with mesothelioma. He is survived by his wife and love, Roberta; his brothers, Barry (Charlotte) and Gordon (Doris); brothers-in-law, Mel (Lila) and Don (Lisa); sister-in-law, Barbara; and many nieces, nephews and their families. He was predeceased by his parents, Edith and Charles "Charlie" Edwards. He was born and raised in small-town Alberta in Consort and Hanna, and worked in Calgary and Ft. McMurray in the early '70s when they were also much smaller towns. Jack, along with friends, Pat Parker and Wayne Kautz, became engineers (U of A) when career choices were neither clear nor compelling, but it all turned out better than they could have imagined. He relocated to Vancouver in 1975, where he worked at BC Hydro in various senior management positions for more than three decades. World travel in Canada and elsewhere was always a big part of Jack and Roberta's lives. Their favourite travels were undoubtedly South and Central America (Peru, Brazil, Venezuela, Ecuador, Guatemala), Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Cambodia), China and Mexico, where Jack picked up a love for archeology. Jack's advocacy for Canadian unity culminated in his motorcycle trip across Canada in 2017 (14,500+ km) to celebrate Canada's birthday with his good friends, Mike Caldwell, Bob Duncan and Dahl Chambers. Jack tried not to take life too seriously or intensely, but worked too hard for his own liking given the 30+ countries he visited and the 300,000 km ridden on 26 motorcycles. Jack enjoyed learning from everyone in his path and he often spoke about those he admired, including his brothers, Barry and Gordon and their families; and good friends, Gerald Benedict and Roberto Piva; cousins, Bruce and Grant Robinson and families; Bill McQueen and Lorne March. Truly the strongest and most enduring friendships anyone could imagine or hope for. Through Jack's volunteer work with St. John Ambulance, Canadian Council of Aboriginal Businesses, Planned Lifetime Advocacy Network and North Shore Search and Rescue, he became good friends with Lucille Johnstone. The many years of negotiations in his role at BC Hydro created working relationships with those in the First Nations communities; Rod Louie, Chief Perry Radan, Tribal Chief Mike Leach and so many others. Jack enjoyed current affairs and history; particularly that of World War II. He was an avid collector of historical memorabilia. Jack has tried to share his interest in numismatics with his nieces and nephews. A loving husband and travel companion to Roberta, a son, brother and uncle. A steady influence as an uncle, his guidance was consistent in its theme – trust your intuition, work hard and make time for the ones you love. His niece, Christa, often referred to her uncle Jack as the "world's most interesting man." Jack was extremely proud of all his nieces and nephews, Jason, Graham, Christa, Chad, Lori and Tracy, and their families. Brother Gordon's family rock band exploits were cherished memories. It has been a blessing to have shared life and times with him and to be nearby him during recent years. He will be dearly missed by family and friends, and especially by his wife, Roberta. With thanks to Dr. Aaron Cass and the many homecare nurses that provided home support, and all the nurses at the Palliative Care Unit at SMH that made Jack's last days as comfortable as possible. A celebration of Jack's life will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, a donation to the Palliative Care Unit at Surrey Memorial Hospital (info@surreyhospitalsfoundation.com) and/or the Canadian Mesothelioma Foundation (info@cmfonline.org) would be appreciated.