Obituary of John Alexander Gilliland

On March 21, 2022, John Alexander Gilliland passed away from this world with his wife Laura at his side. 

Born January 4, 1937, in London, England, John lived through the war years with many a story to tell.  He moved to Bissett, MB, Canada with his wife, Janet (nee Stow), and infant Sarah in 1959. There he began his career as a geologist focusing on groundwater research. The family, now including Patrick, moved to Ottawa, ON in 1965 where John entered the Federal Civil Service. His work saw him move to Saskatoon, SK and then much farther north to Yellowknife, NT where John and Laura began their life journey together in 1993.   They retired to the warmer climate of Creston, BC in 2004.

It had been a difficult couple of years for John and Laura with the death of their beloved dog Tod and with the deaths of John’s younger brother, Andy, and his wife Maribeth in Calgary AB.

John will be greatly missed by Laura, his children Sarah and Pat, their spouses Fred Jardine and Lee Ann Farruga and grandchildren Emily, Tom and Peter Jardine, and Rowan and Miranda Gilliland. John will be remembered for his eclectic love of music as well as his love of cooking, gardening, photography, race cars and motorcycles, soccer, dogs, and nature. 

A Celebration of Life Service will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, friends are invited to make a memorial contribution to the Creston Valley Hospital, Bag 3000, Creston, BC V0B 1G0 in appreciation of the wonderful care John received, or to PAWS Creston, 2805 Lower Wynndel Road, Creston, BC V0B 1G8, to honour John’s love of dogs, or to a charity of their choice.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of John Gilliland, please visit Tribute Store