John Meyerstein was born in Germany in 1935, and grew up in England, where he attended Bedford Modern School. At age 18 he was called up for National Service in the UK. John was sent to Korea for peacekeeping with the UN forces, which had a huge impact on his outlook. After his tour of duty, John went to Singapore to work for the Borneo Motor Company. He was later transferred to the Kuala Lumpur office in Malaysia, where he met his true love, Trudy. They were married and had one daughter in KL. Later, the family moved to Hong Kong, where a second daughter was born. In 1969 the family moved to Oakville, Ontario, Canada.

John was a business consultant and representative (J. Meyerstein Canada Ltd.) for international companies, and was a real estate broker. He occasionally taught marketing at Humber and Sheridan. Later, he worked for the Town of Oakville as the General Manager for Economic Development. After 9 years, John took early retirement and returned to consulting, interspersed with lots of travel. At one time he was a member of the Oakville Kiwanis and the Chamber of Commerce. He also helped Trudy deliver Meals on Wheels. John regularly met with his "old boys club", a group of friends in the GTA who had also been students at his school in England.

John was a keen traveler and throughout his life visited various countries in Asia, Europe, Central and South America, as well as Australia and New Zealand, mostly on business. John and Trudy spent many years as snowbirds, driving south to Florida, Texas, and the American Southwest every winter. John loved driving, and he especially loved the desert scenery. He was happy visiting his daughters and their families in the USA. These winter road trips continued until the last return drive in 2018.

John loved reading and collected books on the military and WWI and WWII. He also enjoyed watching golf, old Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movies, Star Trek reruns, and rewatching his favourite movie, Casablanca. He liked listening to classical music when he was driving. He loved the family cats and dogs, especially Salem and Misty. A sociable person, John liked chatting with old neighbours and made it a point to get to know the new ones. He would talk with everyone, from acquaintances in the community to local business owners, and even strangers. John valued courtesy and giving a helping hand to newcomers to Canada.

John passed away on Friday, June 23, 2023. He had advanced Alzheimer's and was in Long Term Care for about 6 months, visited daily by his beloved wife, who spent hours each day with him. John and Trudy were married for 62 years. John is survived by Trudy, daughters Joanna (Tom) and Jane (Mark), and three grandchildren: Taylor, Katia, and Jasmine.