EDWARDS, JOHN ST. CLAIR - He had a passion for traveling and was happiest going somewhere with Viviane at his side. John Edwards died on November 15, 2011. He was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and grew up in Montego Bay. He came to Canada in 1960 to attend UNB where he completed a B.A., B.Ed and M.Ed. and where he met Viviane Giroux whom he married in 1966. They married during summer school so it was a few years before they could have a honeymoon. In 1968, John bought a new yellow Mercury Cougar, filled the trunk with camping gear and they set off across Canada driving as far as Victoria, down the California coast and back across the US, stopping along the way to attend workshops in Montreal, at Brock University and at UBC. It was the beginning of a lifelong love of traveling and learning. John traveled to many exotic locations, but the place he loved most of all was his cottage on the Baie de Chaleur in northern New Brunswick. He loved entertaining friends there, sitting by the fire pit near the Bay, eating lobster and crab, watching the sunsets and counting the stars. Professionally, he worked in the field of education at various levels of the system. At UNB he set up the first High School Relations Office, traveling to schools in Eastern Canada and Quebec, encouraging students to attend UNB. He taught at St. Thomas University and worked for some time as a counselor at UNB. But he spent most of his career as a teacher and counselor in schools in Quebec and in New Brunswick. Students gravitated to him. He was a mentor to many who years later would approach him on the street to introduce him to their children and more recently to their grandchildren: “Meet Mr. Edwards, he was my best teacher”. As one of his former students said on a recent visit to his home: “I am who I am today because of you. I would not have finished high school if it hadn’t been for you. I would not have gone to university. You were the only adult I could speak to”. John had many interests. Apart from his love of traveling which took him to various parts of the world, he loved learning and never stopped trying to learn French and Spanish, taking courses in Fredericton but also in France, Quebec and Mexico. He loved to play the guitar and as late as a few weeks before his death he was learning Cohen’s “Hallelujah”. He loved to play bridge and studied the game with a passion. He loved golf, tennis, fishing, bird watching. He loved music, especially jazz and had an impressive collection which he enjoyed sharing with his friends. He enjoyed painting and also photography. He was an avid sports car fan and drove a 1968 MGB every summer for thirty years. “But never when it rained” he would say. John deeply loved and was immensely proud of his son Mark, daughter-in-law Karen and little grandson Jack, whom he adored. He loved his sister Barbara, brother-in-law Clive, favorite nieces Debbie and Diane and Beth, as well as several other family members. He had many friends whose friendships he treasured. He had a presence, a charisma, a beautiful smile. He will be deeply missed.
We will gather to remember John at Gallery 78, 796 Queen St. at 4:00 pm on Saturday, November 19th . Online condolences can be addressed to www.mcadamsfh.com.