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John Hertzberg Obituary
HERTZBERG, John Sumner Born October 31st, 1924 in Toronto. Died in Victoria July 26th of heart failure following a heart attack a few days earlier. His penultimate" illness was Alzheimer's-like dementia. John, the son of Major General C.S.L. Hertzberg and Jessie Todd (nee Alexander), is survived by his brother Peter of Toronto, predeceased by his first wife Deborah (nee Harrison) and his second wife June (Swenson). His partner for the past few years of his life, Penny Furnes, will greatly miss his loving companionship. Dad leaves his three children, Anne Christensen of Victoria, Ian of Sooke and Peter (Susan M'Gonigle) of Nanaimo. Grandpa also leaves his three grandchildren, Maggie, Adrian and Hillary. He is survived by June's children, Leonard (Marilyn) Forscutt of Edmonton, Jennifer Dawson of Kamloops, Lynelle Gehrels (Marien) of Toronto and Robyn (Michael) Flemming of Victoria. John retired as a Commander in the RCN in 1969, founded The Toy Shop on Oak Bay Avenue with Deborah the same year and rebuilt it after a devastating gas explosion (he hated natural gas). After his retirement, he traveled widely with June. He loved his walks with Penny and Oreo. He was a gentle and loving husband, father, granddad and friend. He had perhaps the driest sense of humour imaginable, often mistaken for inscrutability. For years, John volunteered at the Unitarian Church of Victoria, making many friends along the way. He also served with The Upper Room soup kitchen (now Our Place) where he was known as Professor". He loved garage sales, Bridge and Tim Horton's. He disliked arbitrary authority, and government meddling in our affairs. Dad loved playing with words, especially the word-game Quiddler, which he let others win occasionally. He was a stickler for grammar: few got it right, but none was humiliated by him for it. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Alzheimer Society. No funeral by request. There will be a Celebration of Life on Sunday, August 22nd at 1:30 PM at the First Unitarian Church of Victoria, 5575 West Saanich Road. 599076
Memories and Condolences
for John Hertzberg
15 Entries
Virginia Browne
August 30, 2010
I have very happy memories of both your parents. I saw John recently happily shopping in Thriftys! We had a great catch up - and the one thing that shone above all was his pride in his family. He will be sadly missed by everyone who knew him, for his wit, his kindness and his sense of humour.
Philip Johnston
August 28, 2010
Have just learned of the passing of this wonderful and very professional Naval Officer who was my first Commanding Officer at sea. I was appointed to his ship, HMCS NEW GLASGOW, in June 1963. Within an hour of joining, we were steaming down the Strait of Juan de Fuca and I was doing Officer of the Watch Manoeuvers under his kind watchful eyes. He was a very fine Naval Officer, hard working, fair and filled with a dry sense of humour, the importance of which he stressed to his young officers. His eyes sparkled when he made a joke. My sincere condolences to you.
Liane Luton
August 22, 2010
Dear Peter, Susan, Adrian, Maggie, Hillary, Anne and Ian,
Your father would have loved the obituary. Glad to see there were no grammar errors. I loved working in the Toy Shop and working with him. He was a kind man who was for a time, like a second father to me, and he loved all of you so very much.
Sincerely,
Liane Luton
Richard C. Bocking
August 20, 2010
John’s delightful dry wit and warm personality added so much to our enjoyment of services at First Unitarian Church of Victoria. Already we are missing him each Sunday. He served his country well, and we send condolences to his family and to Penny.
Richard and Winnifred Bocking
Dale Shortliffe
August 19, 2010
John was my 'boss" when my Mom and I used to serve as ushers for the Unitarian Church. We both loved his relaxed manner, and his practical style. Mom and I each treasured his good natured approach and if he ever "sweated the small stuff" he never showed it.
A great pleasure to have known this man.
August 13, 2010
I did't know John well, but I saw him at a bridge party, and found him so very delightful, and also when he was in charge of the ushers at the church. Here, he was very helpful and kind. He shall be missed by many people for many different reasons. Sincerely, Marguerite Hobbs
Craig Wesley Jones
August 13, 2010
Sincerest condolences to the family. I had not had the pleasure of meeting John Hertzberg, but in Peter always saw something very special that I knew had to come from somewhere. This was clearly a life lived to the fullest, and to the benefit of many.
Dad and Oreo
A Hertzberg
August 12, 2010
Jodie McKinney
August 9, 2010
You will be missed Grandpa John. Always loved your wit, travel stories and how you flirted with the ladies. What a privilege it was to have you in our family. God bless.
August 8, 2010
Anne,
Now I can better understand where you get your sense of humour and your love for garage sales...
Condolences to you and your family
Francine Buck
August 8, 2010
Annie , Peter and Ian- what a wonderful summation of Cousin Johnny's (as we knew him)life.My favourite long standing memory of him is the vision of one end of a full cloth hankie stuffed into one or other offending nostril and once planted ,one hand holding the rest of the hankie horizontally out from his face while the other hand makes the motion of an organ grinder by the other cheek all the while making a dreadful grinding noise with his voice. My brothers and I would howl with laughter . As you can imagine, the effect that would have on small children was electric !Possibly one had to be there but it is an abiding memory that I have mimicked for many with the desired effect !A life well lived. Much love . See you on the 22nd.xxxxx thea 2
Maggie Hertzberg
August 8, 2010
This is the best obituary I have ever read. Grandpa would love it. Nice work Dad and Aunty Anne! I'm happy Grandpa went how he wanted and can be at peace now. Love Maggie
Gwendolyn Carnell
August 7, 2010
Anne..........my sincere sympathies.
Helena Isherwood
August 7, 2010
My thoughts are with you Anne
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