Obituary for John Oscar Haines
Haines, John Oscar
Sometime in the wee hours of February 4, 2023 John Haines passed away at his home in Nottawa, Ontario.
A mostly lifelong bachelor with no children of his own, John took a very keen interest in his nephews, their wives, and his great nephews and nieces. He connected with us through sheer fun, art and music.
Born August 12, 1942 in Wingham, Ontario, John was the middle child of Irvin J. Haines and Annie Verona Haines (nee Bellamy).
A graduate of the University of Guelph with a Degree in Landscape Architecture, John was nature’s child, and rarely passed up the opportunity to collect a unique piece of driftwood, or perfectly contoured piece of stone. Whether it was travelling through the west in an old, but livable van surviving by drawing and playing music, or working at a Yoga Camp he was always on what seemed like exciting adventurers. Rubbing shoulders with the greats of the Toronto music scene in the sixties, with his long hair and ability to play any stringed instrument, to his nephews Uncle John was the essence of “easy cool”.
Eventually settling in Collingwood, and later Nottawa (not Ottawa!), John continued to play music either as part of a trio, duo or solo artist in a variety of local establishments. His passion for history, combined with his artistic talent would be expressed by detailed drawings of the Collingwood shipyards and locale. For years John’s “map” of The Blue Mountains, and a “Whistler Vantage” were featured as the centerfold of Mountain Life magazine. Painstakingly detailed, John would tilt the perspective of a topographical map so that it appeared you were doing a flyover of the area, “a birds eye view” he would say, but without losing the integrity or usefulness of the map itself. He completed similar maps for most of Ontario cottage country.
Survived by his sisters Pat (Mac) McCallum, and Nancy (Rick) Farrar he will most lovingly be remembered plucking away at the standup bass, accompanied by Nancy playing piano, leading all of us through a collection of Christmas carols at our annual gathering. The kids and adults all shouted with glee.
May you all have some version of Uncle John in your life, he will be dearly missed.
A celebration of John’s life will take place sometime in May, in the Collingwood area with details to follow. In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of John to the Blue Mountain Foundation for the Arts would be appreciated by the family.
Sometime in the wee hours of February 4, 2023 John Haines passed away at his home in Nottawa, Ontario.
A mostly lifelong bachelor with no children of his own, John took a very keen interest in his nephews, their wives, and his great nephews and nieces. He connected with us through sheer fun, art and music.
Born August 12, 1942 in Wingham, Ontario, John was the middle child of Irvin J. Haines and Annie Verona Haines (nee Bellamy).
A graduate of the University of Guelph with a Degree in Landscape Architecture, John was nature’s child, and rarely passed up the opportunity to collect a unique piece of driftwood, or perfectly contoured piece of stone. Whether it was travelling through the west in an old, but livable van surviving by drawing and playing music, or working at a Yoga Camp he was always on what seemed like exciting adventurers. Rubbing shoulders with the greats of the Toronto music scene in the sixties, with his long hair and ability to play any stringed instrument, to his nephews Uncle John was the essence of “easy cool”.
Eventually settling in Collingwood, and later Nottawa (not Ottawa!), John continued to play music either as part of a trio, duo or solo artist in a variety of local establishments. His passion for history, combined with his artistic talent would be expressed by detailed drawings of the Collingwood shipyards and locale. For years John’s “map” of The Blue Mountains, and a “Whistler Vantage” were featured as the centerfold of Mountain Life magazine. Painstakingly detailed, John would tilt the perspective of a topographical map so that it appeared you were doing a flyover of the area, “a birds eye view” he would say, but without losing the integrity or usefulness of the map itself. He completed similar maps for most of Ontario cottage country.
Survived by his sisters Pat (Mac) McCallum, and Nancy (Rick) Farrar he will most lovingly be remembered plucking away at the standup bass, accompanied by Nancy playing piano, leading all of us through a collection of Christmas carols at our annual gathering. The kids and adults all shouted with glee.
May you all have some version of Uncle John in your life, he will be dearly missed.
A celebration of John’s life will take place sometime in May, in the Collingwood area with details to follow. In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of John to the Blue Mountain Foundation for the Arts would be appreciated by the family.