Obituary of John Gordon Calder
It is with sorrow that we announce the death of John Gordon Calder of Long Reach on March 24th, 2025. Born in Springhill, Nova Scotia, November 5, 1941, he was the son of George Calder and Alma Hayward of Springhill. He was married to the love of his life, Doris Patterson, with whom he had three children: Gordon (Jongyoun), Laura (Peter), and Stephen (Alison). Together they had six grandchildren: Olivia, Lena, and Graeme, Eleanor, Joseph, and Esther. John leaves behind two brothers: Dr. Peter Calder of Kingston, Ontario, and Allen (Suzanne) of Elliot Lake, along with much-loved cousins, nieces, and nephews.
After graduating from Acadia University, then studying in Northern Ireland, John and Doris taught as volunteers in Serowe, Botswana. He later obtained a B.Ed. from the University of New Brunswick and, on a grant from the Ford Foundation, studied at the National Humanities Foundation in Concord, Mass. He taught English and history at Rothesay High School and later at Kennebecasis Valley High School for thirty years, but his driving passion was for social justice, human rights, and multicultural education. John served on New Brunswick’s Human Rights Commission for seven years and was awarded the province’s first Human Rights Award, as well as the Queen’s Jubilee Medal on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the United Nations. He also served for ten years on the committee of the Quaker United Nations Organization.
John was a member of the Religious Society of Friends and served the Quaker community for many years. He was also a founding and active life-long member of the Kingston Peninsula Heritage Society.
A natural conciliator and diplomat, an avid gardener and constant reader, a spiritual seeker, an experimental cook, and even a talented rug hooker in later life, John leaves us with the lasting memory of a husband, father, grandfather, and friend, who was naturally noble, artistic, quirky, very funny, and always a fair-minded and determined defender of justice. John Gordon’s spirit will be with us always. In his own words, “Love folds us in. The light never dies.”
Arrangements are under the care and direction of Brenan’s Funeral Home, 111 Paradise Row, Saint John, NB (506-634-7424), where visitation will take place on Friday, March 28, 2025, from 4 to 8 pm.
In lieu of donations, John asked that people, “donate a good book to the library and read a good book while they’re at it.”
