Neysmith, J
Neysmith, John (J) Kevin
January 31, 1945 - April 30, 2022It is with heavy hearts that we announce the sudden death of J Neysmith at the age of 77. Loving father to Jocelyn (Gordon), Jordan and Jalyn (Andrew) and proud grandfather to Valary, Effie and Arthur. He was predeceased by his wife Jane (née Murray), his brothers Michael (Wendy), Peter (Ann) and David, his parents James and Alice, and his grandson Johnstone. He will be dearly missed by his sisters Joan Roy (Bob), Sheila (Michael) and Mary Dawson (Richard), by his nieces and nephews, and by his many friends, fellow volunteers and former colleagues.
Born in Montreal and raised in St. Lambert, Quebec, J attended St. Francis Seminary, a boarding school in Staten Island, New York. He entered the Franciscan novitiate at Middleburgh, New York, followed by studies at St. Hyacinth College and Seminary at Granby, Massachusetts. While earning his undergraduate degree in history from the University of Massachusetts, he toured as part of the Singing Friars, playing his guitar and softly singing off-key. After leaving the Franciscan Order, he returned to Montreal before spending two years teaching secondary school in Ghana and Sierra Leone with CUSO; he met his wife Jane during their pre-departure training in Toronto. After spending a year travelling through Europe and Africa, Jane and J returned to Canada, living in Toronto and southwestern Ontario before settling in rural Dundas (now Hamilton) with their family and an assortment of farm animals.
J spent 30 years as a Branch Manager and Senior Accounts Manager (Commercial Lending) with the Royal Bank, and became personal friends with many of the colleagues and business owners with whom he worked. He also moonlighted for the bank, maintaining ATMs throughout the Hamilton area on evenings and weekends. Throughout his adult life, J devoted many hours to volunteer work with Ronald McDonald House, the Hamilton Association for Community Living, Hamilton Out of the Cold, the Dundas Chamber of Commerce, the Bruce Trail Association, the Hamilton Naturalists’ Club and other charitable organizations. After he retired, he started Hands Up Out Of Poverty, which funds development projects for women and girls in rural Kenya.
An excellent cook, J loved entertaining and was a connoisseur of “good value” wines. Once his kids were older, J enjoyed the tranquility of spending several weeks each summer as the volunteer lighthouse keeper at either Cabot Head or Flowerpot Island on Georgian Bay. After retiring, he resumed travelling, visiting his children in Japan, South Africa, Kenya, Australia, New Zealand and California, among other destinations. He was also an avid reader, and may have been the Locke Street library’s best customer in recent years. He spoke his mind, loved a good joke, and supported his children unconditionally.
A funeral mass will be held on Saturday, May 14 at 11 a.m. at St. Joseph’s Parish, 260 Herkimer Street in Hamilton. Natural burial will take place on Monday, May 9 at 1 p.m. at Grove Cemetery, 129 York Road in Dundas.
In lieu of flowers, donations to Hands Up Out Of Poverty (600-157 Pearl St. South, Hamilton L8P 3X7) would be appreciated by the family.
