John Tarasuk

John David Tarasuk

It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of John Tarasuk - beloved husband, father and Papa-on November 17, 2022 after a brief battle with cancer. He was 85.

Lovingly remembered by his wife Nancy of 61 years, daughters, Sylvia (Mike), Jill (Andrew), and Beth.

Greatly loved by his grandchildren Eric (Rachel), Sara (Julian), Sonya (Evan), and Emil.

Survived by his brothers Walter (Doris) and Arthur (Vera), sisters-in-law Valentina and Tomi and many nieces and nephews.

John was born in St. Walburg, Saskatchewan on December 24, 1936. He was the 9th of 10 children born to Dmitri and Anastasia Tarasuk who immigrated to Canada from Ukraine in 1930. He spent his childhood living and working on a farm in rural Saskatchewan and often shared stories about the many varied experiences of farm life.

After high school, when John was 17, he left the farm to live and work in Toronto, subsequently studying Mechanical Engineering at U of T and graduating with his iron ring in 1959 and his Master’s in 1961.

He married Nancy in June of 1961. In 1962, John accepted an Assistant Professorship at the Nova Scotia Technical College in Halifax where daughters Sylvia and Jill were born. The young family moved to Saskatoon in 1965 where John completed his PhD. In 1968, Beth was born and John accepted a position as a Professor of Engineering at Western University in London, Ontario and worked there until his retirement in July of 2000.

In 2007, John and Nancy moved to Stittsville to be closer to family and their cottage property. They embraced the new location and formed many lasting friendships.

John will be remembered for many things including his strong Christian faith, his willingness to help others and his ability to fix any broken item, as well as his musical talents, his beautiful oil paintings, his love of gardening, tennis, cycling and world travel and his incredible energy which he maintained up until his last week.

Mostly though he loved his family, he was devoted to Nancy and he was a proud father and Papa.

He will be missed, but we have the assurance that he is now in heaven celebrating with his family and friends who have gone before him.

A special thank you to all the oncology and palliative care teams, who provided support and care to John.

A memorial visitation will be held at the Carp Chapel of Tubman Funeral Home, 115 Rivington St., Carp, on Sunday, November 27th from 1 – 2pm followed by celebration of John’s life in the chapel at 2 pm.  Reception to follow.  Masks will be available for those that require them.   For those unable to attend the celebration of life in person a live stream option is available by scrolling below.

In lieu of flowers, the family is asking that donations be made to the charity of your choice.