I fondly remember quiet winter evenings with an abundance of stars, northern lights and sparkling snow. I recall the transition from going to school by horse and buggy and sleigh the first year of school, to our first car (Model A Ford) from 1947 to 1954. Highlights were my relationship with King and Beauty, our two horses for riding in my early teens, and my companion dogs, Brown and Lad, until I attended the University of Saskatchewan (1962 – 66) for a B.Sc.

Then, having been inspired by a book The Saga of Billy the Kid in my early teens, I rode a motorcycle to Albuquerque, NM to see real cowboys and indians and attend graduate school at the University of New Mexico. I remained in Albuquerque for 40 years until 2007, when the call of winter, mountains and rivers pulled me to Canada and Cranbrook. While in NM, I obtained M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees and then worked in research related to cardiopulmonary physiology and exercise at the Lovelace Foundation and later the VA hospital. During this time, I was employed for eight months in Wellington Hospital, New Zealand and took a research fellowship at the Max Planck Institute in Gottingen, Germany. As a research scientist I visited other countries including Austria, Slovenia and India; in addition to adventure trips to Peru, Chile and Argentina.

I married Janet By in 1974, and we had and raised two children, Kris and Ninya. We parted in 1995 and in 2001 I married Robyn Rader, who has two children, Sam and Delaney. Robyn, Delaney and I moved to Cranbrook in 2007, with Sam requesting to remain in the USA.

My greatest joys were: 1) being present at the birth of my two children and then following their adventures, 2) close associations with scientific coworkers in research projects, notably my boss and inspirational mentor, Ulrich Luft, for 15 years at Lovelace in NM, 3) having good health to keep physically active and enjoy running, jogging and plodding as my health faded and age progressed, 4) the joys and adventures I shared with two dogs, Redford and Ranger, and 5) the loving relationship and support from my wife, Robyn.

My greatest sadness was being present at the passing of my parents to the great beyond and the termination of close relationships with many friends who also passed on.

Now that I am coasting in for the landing, I am avoiding social media, the bane of mankind, so that I can enjoy my past life’s experiences independently without interruption by outside noise. I await my transition; with the hopes it will not result in undue sadness for my friends and family, but with the sincere desire to outlive Donald Trump. If I’m not here, let me know if the latter has been achieved.

Cheers to everyone!

Note that Jack’s family would like to invite you to a celebration of his life in Summer 2026 in Cranbrook. If you would like to be included in the details, please email his daughter Ninya at [email protected]

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