John VAN VELZEN

1932 - 2020

VAN VELZEN, John June 27, 1932 - April 14, 2020 Peacefully, at home with his family by his side, John lost his battle with cancer. He was predeceased by his oldest son Robert (Jan) and is survived by his beloved wife of 61 years Josephine (Fieny), his son Andrew and daughter Audrey (John). He was a proud Opa to Cassandra (Terry), Samantha, Sarah, and Ryan and a Great-Opa to Emanuel, Joshua and Callie. John was a pioneer in Canadian special interest magazines. In the early '80s, along with a business partner, they created a Markham based publishing company called Camar Publications, that included some of Canada's most popular magazines, Canadian Gardening, Canadian Workshop, Photo Life and Crafts Plus. The May 1990 issue of Masthead Magazine called him the Czar of Canadian Special Interest Magazines. John immigrated to Canada from the Netherlands in the 1950s. He was a corporate executive in many of Canada's most well-known companies including Rothmans, Carling O'Keefe and Torstar, before his first entrepreneurial venture with "This is Ontario", a magazine giveaway in duty-free shops that focused on travel and tourism. He moved the magazine beyond the duty-free shops and into The Beer Stores. The controlled circulation skyrocketed from 35,000 to one million, but so did the costs, and after 4 years the business was no longer sustainable. The experience did fuel his love of publishing and he went on to work at Harlequin in their magazine division, which led to his second more successful entrepreneurial venture Camar Publications. John leaves behind many good friends, both from the Dutch community and in the Ballantrae community where he and Fieny had a full life for over 18 years. He was an avid reader who loved his morning Globe & Mail, as well The Economist and Mclean's. He loved to travel and cherished his last big trip along The Danube last summer with Fieny and their good friends David and Chrystle. He also treasured his Monday night poker group, his weekly billiards in the community centre, and in his younger years he was a passionate curler, golfer and an incredible swimmer. We take peace in knowing John is reunited with his oldest son Rob and together they are enjoying a Crown Royal and a stogie. A special thank you to Dr. Solow and the nursing staff at The Shakir Rehmatullah Cancer Clinic for taking such great care of John every Monday. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Markham Stouffville Hospital or the Canadian Cancer Society. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, a small private family service will be held at Highland Funeral Home, in Markham, on Friday, with a Celebration of Life to be held when we are all able to meet again.