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John Brouwer Obituary
Johannes (John) Josephus Andrianus Brouwer, 74, of Nanaimo, died peacefully on Feb. 16, 2025, surrounded by family, in the palliative care unit of Nanaimo Regional General Hospital.
John was born in Surabaya, on the island of East Java, Indonesia, on Jan. 22, 1951, to businessman Jack Brouwer and his wife Ann, both of Dutch heritage. Jack had also been born in Indonesia, then a Dutch colony, and spent more than three years in a Japanese prisoner of war camp after Indonesia was invaded in 1942. Ann, who had yet to meet Jack, was interned as well. Soon after they were released in 1945, their paths crossed. They married and had three children: Christina, Veronica, and John.
Civil war broke out after Indonesia declared independence from the Dutch in 1945. The Dutch tried to re-establish colonial control, and the resulting Indonesian Revolution lasted four years. It was chaotic, bloody, and dangerous to anyone who might have been seen as an ally of the colonizers. It was time for Jack, Ann, Christina, Veronica, and John to leave.
From Indonesia to Vancouver
When John was six, the family settled in Vancouver. During their first Christmas, he and his sisters went caroling to earn money to buy their dad some shoes: Jack had only his thick tropical sandals. They collected enough for the shoes, and for some Christmas presents for the family. Not bad for kids who spoke no English!
The lack of English made Grade 1 difficult for John. But he persevered, despite being ill for years with mysterious abdominal pains. His body was not absorbing nutrients, and as a result, he was small and slight. When he was 11, doctors finally went in for a look and removed feet of diseased intestine, which freed John from pain and allowed him to grow – although the surgery was so extensive he had to learn to walk again.
John’s career starts to roll
After John graduated from high school, he went to Malaspina College in Nanaimo, where he earned his mechanic’s papers, including his interprovincial licence.
John had a brilliant mechanical mind. Throughout his life, he worked quietly behind the scenes, using his skills to care for family and friends. He helped the entire extended family with their vehicles – fixing them, diagnosing problems over the phone, and helping them avoid buying lemons. While working full time as a mechanic, he would take on evening jobs to pay for extracurricular activities for son Greg and daughter Kim. He bought Kim her first car when she was 16, totally rebuilding it.
John’s first automotive job was at a Shell station a couple of blocks from where a 16-year-old English girl, Paula Clutton, had emigrated to live with her aunt and uncle in Vancouver in 1970. Paula fell for this nice young apprentice mechanic and gas jockey, so when she and her cousin Wendy threw a Christmas party, John was invited. John and Paula began dating, then married, then bought a house in Surrey, completed their family with Greg and Kim, and moved to White Rock. (In due time, Greg and Tamra provided John and Paula with four grandchildren: Aidan, Lauren, Sarah, and Anna; Kim and Simon gave them one grandson, Kynan.)
From Shell to Nissan
After Shell, John moved on to Surrey Nissan, where he became an expert in repairing that marque. He worked for various Nissan dealers, and Nissan Canada liaised with him to figure out troublesome mechanical issues. He could fix a Nissan in half the time allotted in the “book price” for a job. Mechanics and designers came from Japan to try to learn his secrets. Sadly for them, John’s exceptional abilities stemmed from his intuitive understanding of cars; they were not tricks of the trade that could be learned from a book or taught in automotive classes.
John also had a side gig: teaching women to repair their own cars in night school classes at a Surrey high school. He had no instructor’s rating, but the previous teacher had bailed mid-term without notice, leaving the school in the lurch. Qualifications were the least of the school’s concerns – especially since John’s teaching techniques were so effective, and his students were so pleased with the course. John did such a good job the evening school administrators kept him on for five years, no teaching certificate required.
John would also go for a beer with his students occasionally after class – which on one occasion left Paula explaining to a colleague why her husband had been in a bar the previous evening with 10 women!
His final job as a mechanic was at the Annacis Auto Terminal, which handles importation of Asian-manufactured vehicles destined for the Canadian market.
Flowers and fish, diving and dogs – and motorcycles
John’s Indonesian birthright coloured his whole life. He grew tropical flowers and kept an aquarium filled with tropical fish. He and Paula cooked Indonesian food.
He had a passion for scuba diving and dove all over the B.C. coast, where he became an assistant instructor with a variety of specialty tickets. His big warm-water diving trip was in Hawaii, and when he and Paula took a Caribbean cruise for their 25th anniversary, John did a dive in every port (with Paula’s complete support). He completed 338 dives before hanging up his fins.
His love for dogs began in Indonesia and continued in Vancouver. After John and Paula married, they acquired two purebreds: Elsa, a skittish Great Dane, and Abby, a laid-back golden retriever. Both dogs had a deep connection to John, who was able to train even Elsa to be well behaved. In later years they chose a smaller dog, Ellie, a miniature schnoodle.
Another of John’s passions was motorcycles. He’d always wanted a touring bike; eventually he drove a series of Honda Gold Wings. He and Paula often travelled to northern Vancouver Island – on one occasion driving off the ferry surrounded by dozens of Harley-Davidsons, including a few Hells Angels. He took his grandchildren for rides, which were loved by Aidan in particular. Members of Paula’s family in England came to visit half a dozen times, and John always made sure they saw B.C. and sometimes Alberta, often with a motorcycle as part of the transportation. One memorable trip through the Rockies involved John’s Gold Wing, the family Pathfinder, and ham radios John set up to keep everyone connected.
Illness takes over
Eventually, however, the motorcycles and the diving came to an end, along with his career as an auto mechanic. John was 55 and had begun losing his health after he arrived at the Annacis Auto Terminal. Exhaustion, head-to-toe muscle problems, a steady stream of other mysterious symptoms – and always intense, unrelenting pain, including 24-7 migraines. For the first time in his working life, however, he was a member of a union, the Teamsters, who awarded him a disability pension when he could no longer work. The Canada Pension Plan followed suit, and if you’ve ever tried to get the CPP’s disability pension, you’ll know how high the bar is for that.
John and Paula moved to Kamloops when Paula retired to help care for Greg and Tamra’s children. When that role ended, they returned to the coast, finding an apartment in Nanaimo. John’s physical condition continued to decline, he slept most of the day, and after decades of quiet suffering, he told Paula he did not want to go on.
Planning for a medically assisted death on Nov. 16 was underway, complicated by trips to the hospital when he couldn’t breathe. His kidneys were failing, as was his heart. He died on the day that had been chosen for MAID. But he didn’t need it.
John is survived by Paula, his sisters, his son and daughter, and all five of his grandchildren.
A celebration of life will take place Sept. 20. Memorial donations in John’s name can be made to the Nanaimo & District Hospital Foundation, 1200 Dufferin Crescent, Nanaimo, BC V9S 2B7. His family sends gratitude and thanks to the hospital’s emergency department and to the palliative care unit, whose staff and volunteers provided so much care and compassion during John’s final days.

January 22 1951 February 16 2025 74 Years Old

Telford, Toneff and Boyd Burial and Cremation Centres

Death notice for the town of: Nanaimo, Province: Colombie britanique

death notice John Josephus Adrianus Brouwer January 22 1951 February 16 2025 74 Years Old

obituaries notice John Josephus Adrianus Brouwer January 22 1951 February 16 2025 74 Years Old

We offer our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of John Josephus Adrianus Brouwer January 22 1951 February 16 2025 74 Years Old  and hope that their memory may be a source of comfort during this difficult time. Your thoughts and kind words are greatly appreciated.