John Joseph Walke

It is with profound sadness that the family of John Joseph Walke announces his passing on March 18, 2026.

Dad was predeceased by our mom, his loving wife, Janet Walke, on June 7, 2020, and his daughter Mary, who died at birth.  John will be lovingly remembered and survived by his beautiful family, whom he deeply cherished: Daughter; Debbie (Tony), Sons; David (Kim) and Harold (Adele), Grandsons; Michael (Erin) and Kevin, Granddaughters; Amanda and Sarah, Great-grandsons; Callum and Nolan. Family friend; Patti.

On May 7, 1931, John Walke was born in Toronto, Ontario, to Philip and Anastasia Walke. He had baby blue eyes and wavy blonde hair, which eventually turned jet black.  Dad always spoke so affectionately of his siblings.  He was the second youngest of nine children - five sisters and three brothers.  One of the boys died at 11 months old.

John had 29 nieces and nephews on the Walke side of the family and 14 on his wife's side. Dad married the love of his life, Janet Wadden, in April of 1954.  They bought their first home in Richmond Hill, Ontario in the late 50’s, close to the Mill Pond where they raised their three children.  He built an addition and added a garage over the years.  Mom always told us that dad was so handy, there was nothing our father could not overcome.

One special summer they surprised us with an in-ground pool.  Dad provided his family with love, comfort, and joy.  Mom always told us that God broke the mold after he made our dad.

When dad was a young boy, he would spend his summers working on a family friend's farm. He grew to love that life, surrounded by horses and working in the fields.  He thought perhaps one day he would like to own his own farm, but that was just a dream.  He returned home to start a new job with the Canadian Pacific Railroad.  In the meantime, the owner of the farm contacted Dad to complain that he could not get the horses to move, they would not plough the field.  Dad had to confess that he treated the horses to daily sugar cubes; they were waiting for their treat.  This did not impress the farmer.  Dad always laughed when he shared that story with us.  He always had a soft heart towards all animals. He built a shelter for stray cats and then fed them all winter long.  Once, he arrived home with a puppy tucked inside his lunchbox.  When his latest dog, Susie, grew older, Dad would heat up her food and water, he felt that warming her food would feel gentle on her old teeth.

When Debbie was a little girl, Dad bought her a kitten.  He encouraged her to keep the name Susie, after the veterinarian told them it was a boy, he said that Johnny Cash had written a song about a boy named Sue.  Dad loved music, especially country classics, he could listen to music all day long.  When he was a young man, he owned many delicate shellac 78 albums.  He loved to play them for us on the family's Philco automatic record player every time we visited his parents' house.  He taught us to handle the albums with care.

From the time Dad was a young boy, he had an interest in model railways, this became a lifelong passion of his.  He always had an HO model train, buildings, and all the fixings set up in his basement.  He always humoured us by telling us that he was operating the train, not playing with it.

He loved walking, always trying to achieve his 10,000 steps per day, until his body could no longer keep up.  He loved to play the card game Uno with his family.  He won most of the games which earned him the name “Johnny Shark”.  Dad was always beaming with joy, eager to hear an uplifting story or a hilarious joke of the day.  He taught us that when you wake up in the morning, tell yourself this is going to be a great day, and it will be.

Many people say, 'I knew your dad.'  He was an extraordinary individual; he always embodied an unwaveringly positive attitude and was perpetually grateful for every blessing in his life.  He instilled the importance of living within our means.  He never harboured grudges, as he firmly believed life is too precious to be spent in anger.

Dad eventually retired from the CPR and took a job as a custodian for the York Region School Board, located in Richmond Hill.  The teachers loved him, he was always doing favours for them, and he had fun with the kids in the halls.

He spent time at Mackillop, Crosby and Beverley Acres Schools.  We were all so happy that he made that move.  This meant he no longer worked on weekends, and we could all be together for special holidays.  He was always home on Christmas morning.

Dad was a remarkable man who cherished our mother with every fibre of his being.  When he could no longer care for her and keep her safe at home, she moved to Bradford Valley Long-Term Care.  Dad visited six days a week, arriving in the morning, feeding her lunch, and spending most of the day with her for five years.  The staff grew to admire and love him.  Whenever we ponder the essence of fairness, compassion, integrity, we are reminded of our dad.

We express our deepest gratitude for him for the solace of family ties, profound sense of home and belonging, and we thank God for the love of two incredible parents.  As people gaze into our lives, we yearn to hear them say, ‘they have inherited their father’s heart.’  A heart that sees the beauty in everything.  We will strive to recall his wise words, ‘this is going to be a fantastic day.’  But in this moment, our hearts are shattered into a million pieces.

Nothing can replace those precious words.  I love you, and every time we told our dad that we loved him, he would lovingly repeat those words back to us.  How fortunate to have been able to call this glorious man our dad.  We had him in our lives for so long. We did not get to keep him for our entire life, but he had us for his.

A wee bit of heaven drifted down from above - a handful of happiness, a heart full of love, The mystery of life, so sacred and sweet, the giver of joy so deep and complete, precious and priceless, so lovable too, the world's sweetest miracle all wrapped up in you.