Surrounded by his family holding his hands, John Alan Hipwell passed peacefully on February 14th at the age of 74 years. He will be lovingly missed by Marla (nee Michaud), his devoted wife of 52 years; children Denise (Kyle), Johnny, Greg (Sarah) and Daniel (Lisa); grandchildren Elle, August and Alora; sister Jo-Anne; father-in-law Ted; and his many sisters- and brothers-in-law, nieces and nephews, and friends. We are indebted to Linda, Nancy, Diane, Roger and Terry for their incredible support. John was predeceased by his parents Jack and Doris, and brother Jeff.
Hardworking and committed, John was on the road for over a decade as an owner/operator before his role as an operations manager in the chemical products industry. Always fantastic with people, he enjoyed his post-retirement job with Henderson's pharmacy. A great lover of sports, John coached his sons in junior hockey and spent many years at the track in Cayuga as part of Johnny's drag racing team. He supported the Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Bills. John put everything he had into everything he did, up to the very end. He fought so very hard and we are all so proud of him. A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date. The family wishes to extend a special thank you to the staff of 5B at the St. Catharines General Hospital for their exceptional care and compassion for John and his family in his final weeks, and also to the Palliative home care support team, Niagara EMS, and Father Goodwin. Anyone who was close to John knew how much he loved to help others, and his final act was to donate his eye tissue to someone in need.