John Fox was always up for an adventure. Whether it was a quick hike to take in the views above Maple Ridge, a last-minute trip to Australia with his wife or running a marathon on the Great Wall of China while travelling with his brother-in-law, John was a man of action.
“He never sat still, he always wanted to be doing something,” says his wife, Margaret Fox.
John was born in Ottawa but lived in Maple Ridge for most of his life. He worked his entire career as an RCMP officer, retiring in 1997. Along with the usual RCMP duties, he was eager to represent the force in community activities, including holiday parades and a chicken-plucking contest.
Died on April 6, 2020
Maple Ridge, BC
Age 73
He volunteered when he could for the North Fraser Therapeutic Riding Association in Maple Ridge.
“It was helping out children and adults. He’d put them on a horse and lead them around and it was really good therapy for them. It was good therapy for John, too,” says Margaret. “He loved the horses, and he’d go down and work in the stalls when people weren’t riding.”
After their wedding in 1968, he and Margaret saw an ad on TV for the South Seas. They sailed down there and worked in Australia for six months, before making their way to Europe and eventually back to Canada.
“We went right around the world,” says Margaret. “We just said, ‘We’ll make it work.’ And we always did.”
This story was first published in MacLean’s as part of a collaborative project with Canadian journalism schools to document the lives of people who have died from COVID-19. To learn more about the project and to read the other obituaries, click here.