John Alexander MCKERCHER

John died Wednesday, April 18, 2001 at the Ottawa Hospital, General Campus at the age of 77 years. His loving and beloved wife, Lois, was at his side. On April 15, 2001 they had been married 55 years. John was the son of Bertram McKercher of St. Elmo and Bessie May Stewart of Kenmore, Ontario, and brother of Dr. D. Douglas McKercher of Ottawa. He will be greatly missed by his three sons Douglas, Peter and David; their spouses Erin Scullion, Lindsay Chalmers-McKercher and Rosalind Conway; his grandchildren Alexander, Caitlin, Fionn, Julie (Darcy Blais), James, Lauren, Gavin and Rebecca, and finally his great-granddaughter, Ella born to Julie on April 11, 2001. He was thrilled to hold her in his arms. John joined Bell Canada at age 17 in 1941 and enlisted in the RCAF in 1942, where he was a flight instructor in the British Empire Air Training Plan for the duration of the War. He worked for Bell Canada across Ontario and Quebec for 39 years as an employee and later as a consultant. He was a founder of the MacPherson Council of the Telephone Pioneers of America. Friends and family can say goodbye to John at the Tubman Funeral Homes, Westboro Chapel, 403 Richmond Road (at Roosevelt) Ottawa on Friday from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. A Funeral Service will be held in the Chapel on Saturday at 11 a.m. Interment Springhill Cemetery. Donations to the Heart and Stroke Foundation or the Canadian Cancer Society would be appreciated. Special thanks to the staff at the Ottawa Hospital, General Campus, who made John's final days more comfortable. Ottawa Citizen, April 19, 2001