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October 15, 1924 - June 20, 2018
It is with a deep sense of loss my father, 93 years old, but fraught with a major health issue, passed on Wednesday, June 20, 2018. Survivors are myself, his son Brian in Surrey, BC, and he was an uncle to Anne and Joe Hawthorne, Robert and Lorna Clarkson, a grand uncle to Sarah and Mark Riley, and a great grand uncle to Aiden and Jemma Riley all of Kamloops, BC.

John was born Walter Valentine Urlacher in Fox Valley, SK. He was raised in Kelowna, BC, where he met and courted his future wife Eileen Ades Vidler. In his time, John was a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force and served during World War II in Canada and England.

After military service he enrolled in the University of British Columbia and graduated with a bachelors in mechanical engineering. He went on to work for Boeing Aircraft in Seattle, WA and later H.A. Simons in Vancouver, BC. He held a professional engineering license.

John was a good provider for his family and besides his passion for design he had many hobbies: working in his home repair shop, cooking, entertaining on guitar and violin at senior centers, was an avid sports fan in hockey and baseball, as well as having a keen interest in classic films, Carol Reed's "The Third Man" was his favorite.

John's life will be celebrated at a later date with family and friends. John had a sincere and helpful nature and will be dearly missed by his entire family and friends he knew.

We wish to thank the doctors, nurses, and staff of Surrey Memorial Hospital in Surrey, BC, for their excellent care of John, making his last days as pain free and comfortable as possible.



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