Obituary of JOHN (JACK) NICOL

JOHN (JACK) NICOL John (Jack) Nicol, family man, firefighter, volunteer, friend, politician, Queen Elizabeth Diamond Golden Jubilee recipient, leader. On Friday, January 9, 2015 our hero and mentor, husband of Eva Allan, father of Jane (Leonard Dupre), Jacqueline (Will Habing), Joanne (Bill Mitchell), and Jeannine (Darryl Stotski) was reunited with his precious daughter Jodi. His grandchildren, Richard, Brendan, Jonathon, Cory, Brittany, Jesse, Sydney, and Eric were so fortunate to have his love and guidance. John was born on October 12, 1935 to Albert and Jane Nicol. He was raised in Elmwood and was involved in Kelvin Community Club activities. He was an amazing athlete – baseball, lacrosse, and hockey just to name a few, and was very proud of himself for still holding Lord Selkirk School’s record for the fastest 100 yard dash. While attending Lord Selkirk School, John met his high school sweetheart, Eva. They wed on June 21, 1958. They purchased a home in Transcona and lived there until they moved to Dugald in 1966. John immediately started raising funds to build a club hall for the community of Dugald. Dugald was home for the family for 42 years before John and Eva moved back in to Winnipeg. Once again, John took on the task of being President of their residence Grasse Villa, a position he held to this day. His determination and wisdom made him a natural choice when organizations needed a leader, and what a leader he was! Jack joined the Winnipeg Fire Department on September 3, 1957. He made lifelong friends and enjoyed the comrade of the guys. He was promoted to Lieutenant on January 22, 1984 and then promoted to Captain on November 8, 1987. He retired on July 28, 1991 after 33 years and 11 months of service to the citizens of the City of Winnipeg. Dad continued to serve with the Winnipeg Fire Department Retirees Support Group. The people of Springfield were lucky to have Jack as their Reeve for 21 years. Jack served the people faithfully and honorably. He believed in being truthful and based his decisions on the needs of the people. These personal attributes earned him the respectful title of President of the Union of Manitoba Municipality Association (UMM). Under Jack’s leadership, the urban and rural municipalities joined together to form the Association of Manitoba Municipalities (AMM). Jack was instrumental in this amalgamation and continued to serve as President of the AMM. Jack was also a member of the board for the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) where he made decisions to benefit all municipalities in Canada. Lifelong friendships were also formed. Due to Jack’s wisdom and experience in municipal politics, he was asked to serve on the Manitoba Municipal Board. He retired from this board in 2012 but continued to serve as an advisor when needed. As a father, Dad raised his daughters to be respectful and responsible. He would often work a second job to make sure that his girls had everything they could possibly need. He was determined that his girls strived to do their best in all that they undertook. Dad never allowed us to slack off, he expected us at school or work every day, no excuses. He coached us, cheered for us, inspired us, and bragged about us. Dad loved his son-in –laws and often shared how happy he was with his daughter’s choices. As a grandfather, he attended all sporting events and instilled the importance of being a true competitor. He became a grandfather to all of his grandchildren’s friends and he was loved by all. John was a hero throughout his life and even more so after being diagnosed with cancer. He fought his battle with cancer the same way that he lived his life. He showed courage, strength, and the determination to do everything he could to put his family’s needs ahead of his. Dad was grateful for the care he received from Dr. Paul Daeninck and his wonderful nurse and close family friend, Tracy Chornopyski. He felt blessed to have them in his life. He also appreciated all the nurses at cancer care and often joked with them during his chemotherapy treatments. Dad’s wish was to be at home and we thank the palliative nurses who visited him daily for their respect and their guidance. We as a family are thankful that we were able to honour dad by being his team of caregivers. This journey made us even stronger. A celebration of Jack’s life will be held on Saturday, January 17, 2015 at 1:00 pm at The North Kildonan Mennonite Brethren Church located on 1315 Gateway Road. The family respectfully requests that in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Children’s Wish Foundation, The Manitoba Fire Firefighters Burn Fund or a charity of your choice.