John Lyndon Herman was born in Apolda Germany in June of 1925. John was born to Martha and Kurt Herrmann, the youngest of 4 children, Leonie, Horst, Joanne, and then young Johan. In 1930 seeing signs of fascism rising, Kurt brought the family to Canada and settled in Northern Alberta, the Peace River area. There they lived, and farmed. John was a happy boy, always smiling, making jokes, and enjoying the perks that being the baby child brought.
John grew up amongst the Seven Day Adventist church and took the values of Christianity to heart; John was known to be a kind and generous, with a free-thinking spirit. John worked in the oil fields, building roads, and finding work anywhere he could. He sold books by bicycle as a teenager during the depression, and going to bible college, he confessed that he was really looking for girlfriends. He was a bachelor until the age of 37, until 1962, when he met and married Mary Yeomans. They had one daughter together, Connie, the family lived in Edmonton amongst Mary’s first grown family, Jeannette, Richard, and Edward Yeomans.
John worked long hard hours in his gravel truck building the road to Miette hot springs and later as a dozer operator/owner in Northern BC and Alberta for gas and oil in the 70’s and 80’s. John made many sacrifices working away from the family, while Mary worked at many jobs to assist in that journey. John and Mary, both from immigrant families, assimilated and strived to become as Canadian as they imagined.
John was widowed by Mary’s passing in 1986; he then found a long-time companion Pearl. John’s hard work and smarts paid off as he was able to enjoy many vacations and travel along the way. John was an avid gardener, soup, jam and pickle maker and a friend to animals.
John moved to Grand Forks BC in 2016 to move in with Connie and her partner Jack Kinakin. As John was 92 and still very active, he was a known crib card shark and really enjoyed spending time with his spirited care giver Alice Fuite. John was a gentle and generous man and father, those who knew him will miss his winks and smiles.
John was also very thankful to the Phoenix Manor and the caring, gentle care aids, cleaning staff and nurses at Ivy house. John passed away at the age of 98 on Oct. 5, 2023. John is survived by his daughter Connie Herman, son-in-law Jack Kinakin, grandsons David Olsen and Sandy Golko, good friend Jim Oberg, stepdaughter and son-in-law Jeannette and John Golko and niece Lorelei Taylor.
There will be a memorial gathering at Evergreen Cemetery on June 18, 2024 @ 2:00 pm, to inter him beside Mary and to celebrate John’s life with memories, music, and laughs.
