Thank you all. The amazing notes, thoughts, and memories my dad received over the last months meant a lot to him, and to us. Friday was an incredibly tough day for us all, but my dad was at peace. I know he was fighting hard for every day and trying to make the most of it. The memories shared with him on this site were a huge motivation for him and I'll forever be thankful for all of them.

We were able to spend his last hours talking, sharing, and remembering all of the amazing times we had with him.

On behalf of Sharon, Peter, and I - can't thank you all enough for reminding my dad of the impact he had on so many people.

We'll always miss him, but we have so many good memories to look back on.

Thank you,
Pat

Hi everyone,

I wanted to let you know the date has been set for MAiD (Medical Assistance in Dying). The Doctor will perform the procedure on December 1st around 1:00PM Mountain time. My wishes for the day are to enjoy a drink or two with some of my favourite people as we share memories, exchange hugs, and enjoy some of my favourite songs. I know the day may bring mixed emotions for many; for me, I keep coming back to the song from Monty Python … Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.

I have had a full life, and it has been a great ride. Each of you have played a special part in my wonderful life and I am extremely grateful for your love, friendship and support. I would like to offer my sincere thanks to all of you who have been involved with this webpage and my memorial bench. Your involvement has had a wonderful impact on me, and I hope that it has helped with your grieving process as well.

All my love
Jack

Hello family and friends. Thank you for all your nice messages and wonderful photo memories. I realize I never sent along my comments about the memorial bench installation. Let me start by thanking my son Pete for all his efforts in making it happen. Pete is based in Calgary and was able to communicate with the Kimberley Nature Park Society on several occasions to ensure we were able secure the right bench, with the right plaque, in our desired location (Sunflower Hill). Sharon posted some photos earlier of the bench, and I also want to thank Sharon for her work and inspiration with both the site selection and the inscription. Finally, I want to thank all of you who donated to my memorial bench. It truly takes a village, and I am humbled by your generosity.

I am including couple of photos of the bench; the first one has me sitting me on the bench in my favourite hat; don’t you just love the view? The second photo is of my friends, Janet & Stephen, enjoying some respite during their hike in the nature park. It fills my heart with joy knowing that the bench will be a place for family and friends to go and savour our memories together.

I response to a comment from a friend: No this is not an easy road to walk. Not one I’d pick for me had I the choice. The road was picked for me. The people who volunteer to walk it with you make the load much lighter, and I can’t express the amount that is released from the load as a result of the good wishes of good people like yourselves.
Thank you

Sept 27 2023
Sorry I have not updated you in a while as per my commitment to you couple of weeks ago. The past couple of weeks have been complicated. I have switched over to a massive dose of 100% cannabis oil to help manage pain, courtesy of my friend Woo from Toronto, who footed the bill for everything, including flying in from Toronto. Part of the mixing process is using butane as a cooling agent, so for safety’s sake, we had Woo cooking up a brew outside in our backyard. Good thing our neighbors didn’t call the police! 😊 So part of the last two weeks has been experimenting with the right dosage of cannabis oil and morphine – choosing pain-free along with a feeling of total lethargy vs feeling stoned but totally pain-free. I am getting used to being more communicative through the weed so that is a bonus. Thankfully, I am feeling better in the last two days, and I think we are on the right track as far as what dosage of what meds when.

We’ve also managed to move forward on the paperwork and process for selling our home in Roatan, basically getting it in Sharon’s name instead of both our names. This might seem like a simple process based on Canadian real estate transfers. However, it has been anything but simple. Thankfully, that process seems to be almost behind us. A simple example of the complications: We had to get a translator to verify the words in the Spanish version of the document –Sharon researched and found a list of translators (lawyers and the government couldn’t provide). We originally made a bad turn with this as we contacted someone and were rebuked because we needed to find a translator who specializes in English to Spanish translation rather than Spanish to English – oh yes, if is a different designation and just another thing you can’t find out ahead, but only when you have contacted them.

We have also firmed up plans for installing a memorial bench in a beautiful place in the Kimberley Nature Reserve with a view of the mountains and the Columbia Valley. We are in the process of having a dedication plaque created which we hope to complete in the next week or two. Sharon was the one who came up with the idea for a memorial bench, and she also initially found the location which we added to our list of potential sites (She used to walk up there and sit on another bench in the area to meditate). Sharon also wrote the memorial plaque. Peter was also instrumental in coordinating and gaining approval from the Kimberley Nature Society for approval and the other companies installing the bench and plaque. I will include a photo of the installed bench once it is in there have(been daily rains interfering too).

I have been so focused on the doing and subsisting _ subsisting all those things that we human’s do for survival – sleeping, eating, drinking, - so I have really been more of a “human doer” these past few months since my diagnosis. With many of the logistics coming together re my day of passing, credit cards, Roatan, etc, I am looking forward to having time to focus my energies on the being part of being a human – that’s the part that makes it worthwhile. My future posts will reflect what I am experiencing as we progress. I am looking forward to being more than just a human doer. Next communique will talk about my experiences as a “HUMAN BEING over these next few weeks.

By the way – I am not announcing a day for the medically assisted death for a little while yet – want to see how the pain management experiment is faring first.

I see Pat this week end, Peter, Alyssa and Kellen next – so life is looking pretty good!

Hello my dear friends!
And you are truly dear friends. I am amazed and very touched by your responses.
My son Peter is here right now and he is showing me how to access the page. Thank you Pat, Pete and Sharon for their input as well!
Just to update everyone, we had our site for my memorial bench approved by the Kimberley Nature Park Society and are visiting it today with bench builders to see what will be best suited (the builder this morning said this was the first time he had met the person for whom he was building a memorial bench). This afternoon we are planning the design. I'll share with you details as we proceed.
At this phase in the life, one comes to appreciate one's legacy. I never even thought of a 'legacy' before. You have been so sweet in reminding me of mine - I never imagined it would be so positive - thank you.
Love, Jack

Stay tuned for updates from Jack on his thoughts as he goes through this process plus things I have learned as I’ve gone through life’s journey.