L’Heureux, John Joseph Henry, May 31 of 1937 – March 18 of 2022; passed away quietly at home in Stratford, Ontario, in his 84th year, with one of his children at his side. John is predeceased by his beloved wife, Claire (Clara Knight) L’Heureux, his brother Alexander L’Heureux, sister Alfreda “Freda” (Ernest) Ouimette Sr., and his parents, Anna Elizabeth (Montreuil) L’Heureux and Ovide Henry L’Heureux of North Bay. He is the dear father of Kim L’Heureux of Waterloo, Katherine L’Heureux of Edmonton, Daren L’Heureux of Calgary, Christine L’Heureux of Edmonton, Karen (Allan) Klein of Tavistock, and Steven L’Heureux of Victoria, B.C., all living. He is survived by 14 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren. He is also survived by sister-in-law Myrtle (Sam) Veraldi and brother-in-law Harvey (Susan) Knight; all of North Bay, as well as many cherished nieces, nephews, and cousins.
John was born in Renfrew, Ontario, and grew up in the North Bay area, then brought his family of eight to Stratford in order to work at the Scholar’s Choice Ltd headquarters. He loved his family members and made great personal sacrifices to provide for them.
John was a “just do it” kind of guy – he needed to be busy and would always find a project requiring his attention. Like family members before him, he had natural talents in both graphic and musical arts. He was a genuine artist and inventor. As a young man he taught himself to play guitar, harmonica, and the “spoons”, and sang along with a fine melodious voice. His older children remember him encouraging them to make up songs as he played his guitar. Later in life he played acoustic, steel-string and electric guitar, banjo, keyboard, and violin, and he experimented with digital synthesis of some of his music recorded from his different instruments.
When his children were young, he did sketching and oil painting – mostly nature scenes of wooded areas, lakes, and waterfalls – but gave it up because the oil paints and canvases didn’t fit into the family budget well. He hunted deer and moose, caught partridges with a slingshot, fished, and had a boat for awhile, that he customized himself. Summers were a time to bring his wife and kids to the beach, go camping, and fish. He spent a lot of time with his sister Freda’s children when they were young, in Temiscaming, Quebec, as well as when they grew up – Ernest (Kathy) Ouimette of South River, Jimmy, Diane of Fergus, Gerry of North Bay, Suzanne and Roseanne of Fergus, J.P. (Jean-Paul) of Cambridge, and Donald Ouimette of North Bay. They had a special place in his heart and he took many photos of their weddings and the fishing trips he went on with his nephews.
In his younger years, John played ice hockey, water-skied, and did downhill skiing. As an adult he studied martial arts a bit, on his own, did some body-building, pumping iron to put some bulk on his tall wiry frame, and later played on the company softball team.
As a middle-aged man with the constraints of multiple spinal fusions from work-related injuries to contend with, he turned to photography and built an elaborate darkroom so that he could develop his own pictures – mostly animals, scenes from nature, and family and friends. He studied some of the techniques of the trade at Conestoga College, and many family members have been the happy recipients of his photographic art. In his retirement years, John has invested his creative urges into fly-tying, fly fishing and wood carving with his special buddy Craig, building and rebuilding his project spaces in the spare bedroom and living room, and discovering a myriad of ways to be engaged by computer software – virtual airplane flying, designing greeting cards for family members, solitaire card games, and Mahjong games were some of his favourites. Gadgets have always been of special interest for him – he has rescued many small appliances, machines, and other items, either by repairing them or recycling their parts into new tools and other objects, giving them renewed purpose.
To support his family, John (J.J. to some) has worked over the years in a pulp and paper mill in Temiscaming (Quebec) where he lived with his sister, for Stanton’s in North Bay as a plasterer, as a construction worker, a steel worker; building high bridges for the C.N.R., a shipper-receiver for Nor-ed School Supplies in North Bay, a warehouse supervisor for Scholar’s Choice Ltd in Stratford, forklift operator for Richardson’s Foods in St. Mary’s, as well as a security guard. Wherever he was, he took whatever opportunities there were to design and organize things.
He is dearly loved, and will be missed.
His resting place will be at McTavish Cemetery in the Tavistock area, alongside his wife and brother.
Arrangements are being made via James A. Rutherford Funeral Home of Stratford, Ontario. There will be no visitation or funeral per John’s request and ongoing Covid-19 pandemic concerns. For anyone interested in contacting family members and participating in a Celebration of Life for John at a later date, please contact his daughter Kim L’Heureux by phone at 519-575-0436 or by email at tokimsplace@msn.com.
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Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of John Joseph Henry L’Heureux Friday March 18th 2022..
Rutherford Cremation and Funeral Services
Death notice for the town of: STRATFORD, Province: Ontario