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At first glance John would probably impress
people as a pretty average guy. He minded his own business,
worked hard and honestly, kept his promises, was fair in all
things and adored his family.
Anyone who got to know him better than a
casual greeting would start to notice little things about him
that would get them to thinking "this John is a really good
fellow."
Those who knew him well enough to notice a
lot of these little traits discovered that they had met an
extraordinarily decent and truly a remarkably loving man.
John's parents raised trained and boarded
dogs. Well before he was school age he was helping his mother
in the kennels and giving the canines their daily run. For the
rest of his life dogs would follow him around and it was a rare
pup that would even bark at him.
As a student he excelled in math and read all
the classics. He  was never without a book on the go. He also
managed several after-school jobs as well as all the chores he
had at home.
World War II was waiting for him after High
School and as soon as he was eligible for enlistment he did what
he felt was his duty to his country joined the Air Force and
spent the next four years in England. Radar was new technology
and when John's aptitude for math was noticed he was grabbed
from the ranks for special training as a Radar Tech.
This training and experience proved
invaluable when he returned to civilian life in 1946 and was
almost immediately employed as a weather tech with the
Department of Transport. Typical of John he worked diligently
at this job-shift-work in some of the most brutal weather
Canada’s far North can dish out, until retirement at the age of
62. Also typical of John he never missed a day of work, except
one short spell when he broke his leg. Not surprisingly he won
the admiration, respect, friendship and love from every person
he ever worked with.
In 1948 after a short posting in Ft. Smith
John went home to Regina for a family visit and met Olive
Galbraith. From that day and for each and every day for the
next 60 years no man ever loved a woman more than John loved
Olive. They were married on June 18, 1949.
Their first home together was in Ft. Nelson
where the first two of their six children got their start in
life. The young family next moved to Coppermine then a small
Inuit community on the Arctic Ocean. Their house, which was
also the weather station, was situated about half way between
the community itself and the Hudson Bay Trading Post. Noticing
that some of the elders had difficulty walking to the store and
back without a break from the elements he took to leaving his
porch door open, installed a bench and always left a tin of
tobacco, papers and matches on it. No one was ever refused
shelter or a smoke for the rest of John's stay there.
Port Hardy was our next home where John was
able to indulge in three of his nearly neglected passions,
gardening, fishing and playing baseball. If any of the opposing
players ever hit a fly ball even remotely in John’s direction
they wouldn’t run because they knew it was going to be caught.
In 1959 the Storey family, now with four
children moved to Whitehorse and, as you can see. Are still
here. The youngest two children were born here, but the
family always included many many others. Neighborhood
children who preferred being at John and Olives’ over their own
homes, babies with no where else to go, travelers, friends--- well, it’s a
long list. Everyone was always housed, fed, clothed and driven
all over town. How John supported all of us is still a mystery
but he did it and never complained.
Even more of a mystery is what else he
accomplished. At various times he was a night time bartender, a
gas jockey, a mining expediter, a baseball coach for many teams,
a Royal Canadian Legion member, a Mason, a member of Yukon Order
of Pioneers, a Golden Ager a square dancer with the Sourdough
Stompers and even a president of the Midnight Sun Pipe Band
though he couldn’t play a note.
We always had annual family vacations
together. Usually driving to Regina down the then unpaved
Alaska Highway---once in a VW beetle with six occupants and all
our camping gear. We also had regular family outings---usually
fishing/camping/berry-picking trips all over the Yukon when John
would teach us wilderness survival skills.
And still none of John and Olive's children
rarely missed dinner together, bed-time stories or ever missed a
birthday, Christmas or any other special occasion.
In 1972 John leased then purchased a lot on
Tagish Lake where he and Olive built a large cabin with their
own hands, mostly out of salvaged lumber (another
typically John Storey thing.) The cabin was, and still is a family focal
point and gathering space. While spending time "out at the
lake" John got interested in birds and could spend hours
watching them interact with each other, the squirrels, chipmunks
and anything else that came to the "sunflower seed stump".
This past ten years he spent as much time at
Tagish as possible.  He was always relaxed and happy there and
often said it was his favorite place on earth.
In closing it should be known that John was
granted all of his final wishes. He lived a long and reasonably
healthy life with the only woman he ever loved. He pre-deceased
his wife and all of his children. He died at peace in bed with
one of his family beside him. And he will be buried a Tagish.
I know we are all going to miss him though.
As a son, a brother, a father, a husband, a friend and as a rare
truly decent man. He will forever be without equal.
That Tagish Wind across My Face
Between the lakes of Bennett and Marsh
Lies a place where the
rivers meet
On
a bridge where you stand in that vast northern land
Watching the fish swim beneath your feet
A
place I call the glory of all
Full of magic and beauty and grace
My
heart stands still and my senses fill
With that Tagish wind across my face.
With my Dad's own hand he worked some land
And
from it a dwelling arose
My
cabin he said, a place for my head
And
in case my large family grows
A
port from the storm, a place of my own
To
escape from the stress and the pace
I'll sit by the lake and here I'll escape
With that Tagish wind across my face.
Oh
the fish I will catch the won't be my last
As
I watch the sun set in the west
With my thoughts and my dreams the pleasures they bring
Oh
God this is best of the best
My
mind is at rest my soul is at peace
There’s surly no better a space
I
pray when I pass I'll be home at last
With that Tagish wind across my face
Wm.
John Storey
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