John Allister 'Johnny' Weir, 90, passed away on Dec. 8, 2013 at Taigh Na Mara Veteran’s Home in Glace Bay, N.S.
He was born on Nov. 28, 1923 in New Aberdeen, Glace Bay to George Brenton and
Hannah (MacDonald) Weir. Following radio school in
Saint John, N.B., he joined the air force and
received more telecommunication training in Montreal. He joined the air force and was stationed in Newfoundland and Ontario, where he taught communications, radio and Morse Code
to the pilots who were to fight overseas.
After the Second World War, he worked
for both the Department of Transport and the Canadian Coast Guard in
Telecommunications (ship-to-shore and air-to-shore radio) which took him to
places such as Canso, N.S.; Resolution Island, Nunavut; Camperdown, N.S.; In
1957 he relocated to Sable Island, N.S. with his wife Lillian 'Lil' and two
young daughters, Grace and Helen, to take charge of the radio station.
After moving home to Coxheath in 1960, their third daughter,
Velma, was born in 1961. Johnny and Lil resided in a bungalow that they built on
the Mira River and later became Snowbirds, visiting Sarasota, Florida every
year.
On July 28, 1998 Johnny had the honour
of sending the last Morse Code message at the Coast Guard College in Point
Edward, Cape Breton.
Johnny was a walking encyclopedia of jokes. He played hockey in
the air force and was a fan of baseball, golf, fishing, boating, Seinfeld, and
big band music. He loved to sing and play his ukulele. Johnny kept up with
changes in information technology throughout his life.
He was predeceased by his wife, Lillian (Phillips) Weir; his parents, George and
Hannah; his three sisters, Katherine 'Kay' Cody, Prudence 'Prudy' Pike, Norberta
'Bubs' Collins and one nephew, Marvin Pike.
He is survived by his three daughters, Grace (Glenn) Illsley of Brookfield, N.S.;
Helen (Alan) Spinney of Moncton, N.B. and Velma (Cal) King of Sault Ste Marie,
Ont.; his grandchildren, Lisa (Jazz) Gado of Hong Kong; Susan (Darren Maiden)
Illsley of Hong Kong; Kaitlyn King of Sault Ste Marie, Ont. and Colin King of
Sault Ste Marie; his brother-in-law, Jimmy Collins of Glace Bay; nephew, David (Ena
Gwen) Jones of Ottawa Ont., several other nieces and nephews, and long time
family friend Rita MacIsaac of Inverness.
The family would like to thank the physicians and staff of the Cape Breton
Regional Hospital, Williston House, Taigh Na Mara Veterans Home and Forest Haven
(for cremation and burial).
A gathering to celebrate Johnny’s life will be held in the Newgen Room at Days
Inn, Kings Road, Sydney on Friday, Dec. 13, 2013 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Family flowers only. Donations can be made to charities of your choice.
Source: The Cape Breton Post, December 11th, 2013
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