Obituary of John Roland Gregory

John Roland Gregory March 15 1923 - October 5 2017 At the ripe age of 94, John passed away gently on Thursday October 5th with two of his kids at his side. He was born and raised in St. Catharines with three sisters and married his Niagara peach, June Taylor, whose partnership truly defined his life for 57 years. Profoundly saddened to have been pre-deceased by June, he now leaves behind their children and partners, Lesley (Colin), Charlotte (Chad) and Taylor, beloved grandchildren Tara, Neil and Gabriel, and lots of family, friends and colleagues. Together June and John learned to ride and ski together 50 years ago, joining the Caledon Riding Club, the Eglinton and Caledon Hunt, and the Caledon Ski Club. This community became the enduring hub of their family recreation and friendships. There will be small funeral service at All Saints Anglican Church in Erin at noon on Saturday October 28th and a reception at the Caledon Riding Club at 15747 Creditview Road to follow. At seventeen, John started his military career by joining the 10th Battery RCA in 1940, and two years later he joined the RCAF, with the hope of training as a pilot. After his training, he was posted to RAF Air Transport Group, and delivered many different aircraft to Europe, the Middle East and South Asia. After WWII, he joined the 424 Auxiliary Fighter Squadron in Hamilton, retiring in 1960. More recently, he was appointed as Honorary Colonel of 424 CAF Transport and Rescue in Trenton serving from 2005-2008. In his early business career after the war, he manufactured aircraft parts at Thompson Products. Before long swapped his engineering focus for a consulting stint, managing part of the creation of OHIP, and then shifted into finance, becoming an investment manager for the next 40 years, reluctantly retiring at 88 years of age. John was an ardent lifelong Rotarian, active over a span of 70 years. He began his association as a young businessman in St. Catharines, and was most latterly a visiting member in Palgrave. However, his greatest involvement was with the Toronto Rotary Club, where he was constantly stimulated by the speakers at each Friday luncheon, enjoyed the deep camaraderie of his friendships with members, and earned a Paul Harris Fellow for his service on many initiatives.