It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Mr. John Alfred ‘Jack’ Hoar after a valiant journey through Alzheimer’s, surrounded by his family, on the evening of Tuesday, December 28, 2021 at the age of 76 years.

Loved by many, these are the words that friends and family used to describe him. A handsome, charming, well-dressed and friendly man with ‘the bluest of eyes.’ A solid, safe, kind and gentle person with a big, soft heart. A man who gave warm hugs, and handshakes, and loved to tell jokes and tease people. A loyal and caring husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, cousin and friend. (His thirteen-year-old granddaughter loves to remember her Papa’s playfulness in the water, pretending to be a shark and grabbing her ankles.) And last but not least, an immense lover of nature and outdoor adventures.

Though a well-loved and social person, Jack was happiest – to be completely truthful – all by himself; quietly absorbing the wonder of nature, either in a canoe, or on the shores of a lake or river, with a fishing rod in hand (or in the middle of a frozen lake, staring down a hole in the ice.) In earlier days, growing up in Edmonton, you’d find him in a farmer’s field hunting geese or ducks, getting in trouble with his dad for staying out way too long. Never anything other than birds though. His love of deer was legendary. Perhaps they are his spirit animal, or for his Harry Potter obsessed granddaughters, Olivia and Rosie, his patronus!

His next happiest place was being in nature with family and friends. From boyhood onwards, he was a generous teacher of the things he loved to do; whether it was swimming, snorkeling, setting up and tearing down a campsite, starting a fire, fishing, paddling, snowshoeing, shooting etc. So many wonderful family camping and cottage trips were enjoyed in places like the Georgian Bay, the Rockies (especially the Jasper and Lake O’Hara areas) and the Nelson area of the Kootenays.

During his nineteen years living in Toronto, he enjoyed legendary white-water canoe trips with friends, and in his sixties and early seventies, fishing trips in Northern Saskatchewan with Red Deer buddies. Visits to family on the West Coast of BC brought opportunities for ocean fishing and coastal hikes. More recent trips further afield to the East Coast, Europe and Mexico brought opportunities for long-range hikes and maritime hospitality, tropical swims and photographing historical architecture.

Though a highly responsible man at his core, when it came to outdoor adventures, he was well known for stubbornly pushing the limits, always wanting to go a bit further, look around the next bend, and stay out a little longer. Many of his friends and family have stories of nail-biting experiences that, in the moment, could be stressful but that also stick in our memories for a feeling of triumph, perseverance and respect for nature’s double-edged sword of beauty and ferocity.

An early interest in photography took an increasingly strong hold on him over his life (in his last few years battling Alzheimer’s, a family friend believes his constant photographing was a way of anchoring himself in an increasingly confusing world.) He was forever on the look-out for interesting birds and animals to photograph, ducking down to get close-ups of flowers or standing back to try to capture stunning vistas. His seven-year-old granddaughter, Quinn pictures him always with a plaid shirt on (perfectly ironed) and a camera slung around his neck. His ten-year-old granddaughter, Rosie says she thinks he’s been reincarnated as either a bird or a canoe. Other family members see him in the ‘happy hunting grounds’ of the afterlife, re-united with loved ones in new and breath-taking landscapes.

Jack was also known for his dedication to work and his love of the Red Deer community. He spent over forty years in management with the Hudson’s Bay Company, in Calgary, Banff (a plum manager job for a 24-yr old single man), Edmonton, Toronto, and as the long-time Manager of the Red Deer Bay. Though he took his managerial responsibilities seriously, you could tell that what he loved was being out on the floor, talking to customers, ensuring the store looked great and that shirts were nicely folded (always an impressive skill of his), and solving problems alongside his colleagues. It wasn’t uncommon to find him helping to mop up floods, fix broken equipment, or otherwise pitching in with the grunt work of keeping the place humming. Being of service was his prime motivation; whether in work or volunteer roles over the years with the Red Deer Rotary Club and later, Sunnybrook Farm.

Other aspects of Jack’s personality and passions that will be familiar to those lucky enough to know him were his love of good food from all cultures, music (especially female divas), woodworking (his home a testament to many revitalized flea market treasures) and wine-making. An excellent swimmer and occasional golfer, he admired athletes but really wasn’t a sports guy. Figure skating competitions were more his bag, the blend of athleticism, art and music capturing his admiration. He was also the world’s most fastidious dishwasher, never understanding how his children could stomach pots and pans that weren’t immaculately clean.

Jack will be lovingly missed by his wife, Barb Hoar, his sister, Doreen, his son, John, his daughter, Michelle, his son-in-law, Dave, his daughter-in-law, Lindsay, his three darling granddaughters, (Olivia, Rosie and Quinn), his brothers and sisters-in-law, (Ken, Patty, Mike and Ben), his nieces and nephews, (Jessica, Chris, Jennifer, Jonathan, and Susan) and a big cast of cousins by birth and marriage (the Hoar, Anderson, Cleall, Woodbury, Keesey and Mitchell clans.) Jack was predeceased by a daughter, Nicole, his sisters, Maureen and Kerry and a brother-in-law, Chris.

Jack’s family would like to thank Dr. Taiwo for her excellent care throughout his journey, and all of the staff who cared for him with kindness and professionalism at The Hamlets of Red Deer, Centennial Centre in Ponoka and the Rosefield Centre, Long Term Care in Innisfail. We are forever in your debt and think that you should all be paid much, much more.

A Memorial Service will be held at a later date, outdoors where he would have wanted to gather. In lieu of flowers, if desired, Memorial Donations in Jack’s honor may be made directly to the Alzheimer’s Society of Alberta and Northwest Territories at www.alzheimer.ca, to the Red Deer Food Bank at www.reddeerfoodbank.com or to a charity that reminds you of Jack.

Parkland Funeral Home and Crematorium (Red Deer)

6287 – 67 A Street (Taylor Drive), Red Deer. 403.340.4040.

ONLY LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED FUNERAL HOME/CREMATORIUM

IN THE CITY OF RED DEER.

• Date : 2022-01-05
• Location : www.ParklandFuneralHome.com & www.HeartlandFuneralServices.com