It all started back in 1985 when a former student of John’s gave him his river kayak to keep for an indefinite amount of time. This avid canoeist never looked back and embraced kayaking at a time when it was little known. Looking for other kayakers to go out with, he was one of the founding members of the Niagara Peninsula Paddlers formed in 1991.

He got his family involved by purchasing his first Current Designs Pisces and the larger tandem kayak Libra, so all three could go out together. Club and family trips had John kayaking off the east coast, west coast and southern coast of North America. Of course he kayaked many rivers and lakes in between, actually crossing Lake Ontario twice, once in the single kayak and the second time in the tandem.

John was always the kayaking enthusiast willing to talk to and get many new members interested in joining the club. He spent his happiest moments in his kayak taking pictures with his camera or challenging himself to another long paddle somewhere he wanted to explore.