NEILSON, JOHN JAMES - Beloved husband, father, grandfather, and uncle John Neilson died November 16, 2011 in The Moncton Hospital. He bravely fought a rare disorder that followed him for the last 6 years of his life. John was born in Halifax on Nov. 18, 1933 and moved to Moncton when his father established a wholesale fish business. He attended King George elementary school when it was a French language school and then Moncton High School. He graduated from Mount Allison University in 1955 and over the next 41 years worked for a variety of major corporations in various parts of Canada including Montreal, Toronto, Waterloo, Halifax, and Moncton. He retired from Manulife Financial where he had been Marketing and Agency Vice President for Canada. As a youth, John was active in sports and is well known in the city for his natural athletic talents. He played baseball with the Lewisville Keefe Cubs in the 1950s and was named to the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame. He was captain of the Mount Allison University hockey team for 3 years. John had a long standing interest in health care systems and health care economics. He served on the Boards of the Friends of The Moncton Hospital Foundation, FMH Management Ltd. and South-East Regional Health Authority over a period of 12 years. He also wrote a healthcare column for this newspaper for two years during his retirement. John is survived by his wife Jean Gaudet/Budd of 55 years, three children, Nancy Petersons (Aivars) of Toronto, Jo-Anne Neilson of Charlotte, North Carolina (Gordie) and Andrew Neilson (Larry) of Toronto and one grandson, John Petersons of Toronto. He also had five nieces and nephews; Barb Pelletier, David Neilson, and Linda Boudreau of Moncton, and Diane and Brian Neilson of Halifax.
John was the son of the Irene (O’Leary) of Richibucto and John Neilson of Denmark. He was predeceased by a sister Doris of Hampstead N.B., and two brothers, Dolph and Gordon of Moncton.
A secular memorial service will be held at Fair Haven Funeral Home on Saturday, November 19 at 1:00pm followed by a reception. The family would like to thank Dr. Ken Mitton, his family doctor and the dedicated staff of The Moncton Hospital for their compassionate care and patience. In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate memorial donations to the Friends of The Moncton Hospital Foundation c/o the Jean and John Neilson endowment fund. Arrangements under the care and direction of Fair Haven Funeral Home, 1177 Salisbury Road, Moncton, E1E 3V9, 506-852-3530. Please sign the on line book of condolence at www.fairhavenmemorial.ca