Obituary of John Robert BIRK

April 16, 1952 – Ottawa, Ontario
January 30, 2020 – Calgary, Alberta

John passed away peacefully in his sleep on Thursday, January 30th. He was known by many monikers - Tux, Bob, Ben, Dad, Grandpa and Santa. For simplicity, we will refer to him here as John. John had so much vibrancy, love and light in him that he shared with everyone who crossed his path. He lived such a full and joyful life that it’s challenging to summarize it into a few paragraphs. However, when we think of the essence of John, Dreamer, Rule Breaker, Helper, Partier and Optimist are the words that come to mind.

John was always a Dreamer. He believed that things could always be better, but this frequently meant doing things differently. He often didn’t get the opportunity to incorporate his ‘crazy dreams’ into reality, but when he did, they were always successful. One of his more recent dreams was to be Father Christmas and he was. He spent five seasons bringing his spirit of Christmas into families’ homes.

John was a bit of a wild thing and his wildness often meant doing things differently and breaking a rule here and there. After high school, rather than go to college, he left home to join the carnival. The taste of the carnival made him realize he didn’t want to return to Ottawa and initially this meant travelling to Haiti and Guatemala - and, being the seventies, there were definitely some rules broken. Having come out West with his family by train on holidays as a teen, he fell in love with the Rocky Mountains. Later, he felt the call of the west and moved to Alberta, where he eventually made Calgary his home. Once he started a family, he tamed down, but continued to bring laughter and spontaneity into our lives.

John did not have a good concept of time, and this may have caused some trouble with his career and home life. But, maybe this is why it was so easy for him to take the time to help others. What brought joy to John’s life was seeing others happy and if he was the cause of that happiness it filled him. John gave his time to so many people in so many ways. He was a youth group minister, softball coach to his daughters, volunteer and eventually director to a telephone crisis line. He was fantastic at bringing people together for a cause. But…he never did get the fence stained.

John loved to party and was often the life of the party. During his youth in Ottawa, John organized bus trips with his friends to rock concerts around Canada and The United States. In his early years, he lost a job due to his love of partying. In his later years, he showed a little more restraint. However, there was always an excuse for a party, be it family get togethers, dinner parties, Robbie Burns, the list goes on. And if you can’t remember one of his parties, you were probably there. The reason John loved to party was because he was happiest being around people, telling stories, telling jokes, and having those ‘forbidden’ conversations on politics and religion.

John was the person to see the rainbow in the rain storm. He truly was an optimist. John struggled with the symptoms of ALS for the last six years of his life. However, despite this debilitating illness he still exuded love and laughter until he closed his eyes for the last time. Throughout all of his life he impacted people in a positive way and those who crossed his path were touched by his vibrancy and absolute love for life. We feel honoured that he was part of our family.

We are forever grateful for the support from the ALS Society, the wonderful care he received from everyone at Chinook Hospice (who knew a hospice could be filled with so much laughter) and all the volunteers, family and friends (and their culinary abilities).

Everyone has different memories of John based on where and when they knew him and we hope that you can reflect and have a smile or laugh at your recollections.

Condolences, memories and photos may be shared and viewed on John’s obituary at www.McInnisandHolloway.com.

In living memory of John Birk, a tree will be planted in the Ann & Sandy Cross Conservation Area by McINNIS & HOLLOWAY FUNERAL HOMES, Deerfoot South, 12281 – 40th STREET SE, Calgary, AB T2Z 4E6, Telephone: 403-203-0525.