Peacefully at home on Sunday, October 1st, 2017 at the age of 71. Beloved husband of Pamela Burns (32 years). Dear son of Della and the late John Connor. Dear brother of Paddy (Patti) of North Gower and Mary Samuels of Bermuda. Dear uncle of Matt of Ottawa; Daina (John) of Kemptville; Josh of Texas; Nathan (Sharmini), Lianna (Kyle), Katie (Michael) of Bermuda. Dear great uncle of Rod and Sami of Kemptville; Nila, Devi, Ariya, Della, Amari, Remi, Kosey and Amina of Bermuda. Dear son-in-law of Judy Burns of Perth. Dear brother-in-law of Barbara and Kent Darragh of Colorado. Dear uncle of Jordan (Bliss) of Colorado and Patch (Sonya) of New York and dear great uncle of Caden and Brody of Colorado.

John graduated from Dalhousie University (Halifax) in Pharmacy in ’71. He practiced Pharmacy in Eastern Ontario in his three Pharmacies until his retirement in 2012. John held leadership and committee roles in his professional associations of the Ottawa-Carleton Pharmacists Association (OCPA), the Ontario Pharmacy Association (OPA) and the Canadian Pharmacy Association (CPHA). John was involved in many additional business pursuits during his career. His lifelong thirst for learning led him to The Executive Committee (TEC), a CEO organization dedicated to improving the effectiveness of CEO’s and enhancing their lives. He became a long time devoted group member whose advice and counsel was greatly appreciated by his fellow CEO’s.

John was a devoted and much-admired Brother of Gamma Rho Chapter of Sigma Chi Fraternity at Dalhousie University. The core values of the Fraternity are friendship, justice and learning. John reflected those values and his “Brothers” praise his courage, loyalty, composure, determination and commitment to principles in the face of all life’s challenges. To all of them he was affectionately known as “Long Gone”.

There were many interests that John pursued with great passion, the greatest of these was golf. He had many endeared golfing friends and immensely enjoyed his membership at The Royal Ottawa Golf Club for over 30 years. For his love of wine, John became a certified Sommelier, after his retirement from Pharmacy. John’s love of the garden, plants, flowers, trees and the land and all things green was seen in his choice of surroundings and all his environmental concerns. An avid photographer, John delighted in recording memorable events. John will be sadly missed by his family and friends.

Friends are invited to Beechwood, Funeral, Cemetery and Cremation Services (280 Beechwood Avenue, Ottawa), for visitation on Friday, October 13, 2017 from 12:00 p.m. until the time of Memorial Service in Beechwood’s Sacred Space at 2:00 p.m. For those who wish to make a donation in memory of John, you may do so to Friends of the Central Experimental Farm, http://friendsofthefarm.ca/donations/.