A long-standing Oakville resident, John Ernest Seeton, passed away on August 1, 2019, surrounded by his family at Oakville hospital. Having been pre-deceased by his mother, Doris Vera Seeton (Moore), father Patrick Seeton and youngest brother Richard Stanton Seeton, John is survived by his wife, Rosemary (Laing), his boet Patrick David (Karin) and his four boys and their wonderful partners: Richard (Dimple), Bruce (Jessica), Ian (Lori), and Patrick (Lyz), and his four beloved grandchildren Balen, Tayin, Wyatt and Bowie.

John was born in Cape Town on March 2, 1940, and raised by his mother, Doris.  He and his two brothers ranged over South Africa camping enjoying many outdoor pursuits. John was a high achiever from the beginning and attended boarding school at St. Mark's in Mbabane, Swaziland with a final year at Krugersdorp High School. He went on to study Civil Engineering at the University of Natal where he captained the university's 2 ^nd XV rugby team as their powerful number 8. John worked in South Africa as a civil engineer and surveyor, honing his skills in concrete slip form construction at the East London grain elevators before his adventures took him on a world tour. After a trip north to Europe he landed in Canada in 1965. He found Toronto in the mid-60s suited him. It was here he met his future wife Rosemary, who had emigrated from Glasgow a few years prior.   Family lore has it that the South Africans and Scots would gather for various social outings, including "ice-rugby", allegedly played on the outdoor rinks in Toronto. John made many lifelong friends during this time and developed several essential Canadian skills such as skiing and canoeing. Legend has it that John took a formative trip down the Albany River in 1968 with his friends Trevor Schultz and Kirk Thompson, allegedly bringing nothing but bedrolls, a bag of rice and fishing poles.

John and Rosemary married in November 1970. He continued his studies at the University of Toronto and earned an MBA from the Rotman School of Management, after which he and his young family (now including Richard and Bruce) moved to Kingston, Jamaica and Khartoum, Sudan. John excelled at international construction projects during their time abroad. The arrival of twins, Ian and Pat, in 1977 prompted the family to return to Canada where John re-joined Ontario Hydro to build the Darlington Nuclear Plant. John's skills in engineering slip form construction for the Darlington evacuation tower remain a landmark to this day. John retired in the early '90s, and true to form started a new business in custom carpentry that finished numerous homes and installations, including a major façade for the Galleria Italia at the AGO in Toronto. John was endlessly crafty and resourceful and built, among many things, the family swimming pool. A famous incantation included "a place for everything,
and everything in its place!" to all that borrowed a tool or worse yet, misplaced one.

In 1977 John's mother joined the family in Canada to help with the boys. Adventures included summer trips to Prince Edward Island, EXPO '86 in Vancouver, Florida, and Great Britain and a particularly unforgettable trip to Algonquin with "Uncle Pat from South Africa". John and the boys were active with the Boy Scouts, and John acted as treasurer and led canoe trips to Algonquin and Temagami. Whitewater canoeing was John's next passion that he shared with his sons, and learned the rapids with "Mad-Jan" at Madawaska white-water centre. Soon there were trips down the legendary rivers of Quebec, Ontario and Northwest Territories – the Demoines, Spanish, Missinaibi and Nahanni among them, along with rafting trips down the Zambezi and Colorado rivers.

More recently, John and Rosemary spent their winters in Gordon's Bay, South Africa, near his boet Patrick and his wife Karin. John enjoyed his retirement spending time with his grandkids, adventuring in Canada and Africa with his children, and staying active in his Oakville community with various racquet sports.

John was always adventurous and active and did not allow prostate cancer, multiple myeloma or chemotherapy treatments to slow him down or keep him from a final trip to South Africa this past winter. John will be dearly missed by his wife, family and community at large.

Favourite Sayings / Celebrated maxims:

"I like a man/woman who knows what he/she wants"

"A place for everything & everything in its place"

"Never force anything"

"Every plan needs a budget and a schedule"

"After Hubris, swiftly and inevitably, comes Nemesis"

"It's a dynamic stochastic universe"

"You have just got to have a plan!"

"Shut the door, we're not trying to heat all of Gloucester Avenue!

A memorial service will be held at St John's United Church, 262 Randall Street in Oakville on Tuesday, August 13th at 1 pm. A celebration of life will be held at the Oakville Club, 56 Water Street, Oakville on Thursday, August 15th from 3 pm to 5:30 pm. In lieu of flowers, contributions to OTMH http://oakvillehospitalfoundation.com , Multiple Myeloma research https://themmrf.org or a charity of your choice are greatly appreciated.