Obituary of John William Novak

http://belhavenchurch.ca/John William Novak, 77, of Keswick, Ontario, took his last breath here on earth and entered Heaven to be with Jesus on December 31, 2023.

John was born in Toronto, Ontario on November 23, 1946, to William and Pauline Novak, and was raised in the Bloor West Village. John attended Western Technical- Commercial School before going to work in the sheet metal and heating and air conditioning industries. He had a love of how things were built and was always reliable with a phone call to diagnose a heating and cooling issue. He married Patricia Rowe in 1968 and then moved to Kitchener, Ontario where they raised their two daughters, Lesley and Jocelyn. John was actively involved in youth ministries within the Free Methodist Church through Echo Lake Free Methodist Camp and Kingsview Free Methodist Church. In his later years, he loved attending his home church, Belhaven Free Methodist, and had many dear friends from there. He also enjoyed attending many summer family camps when he was able at both Pine Orchard Free Methodist Camp and at Fair Havens Camp.

John was preceded in death by his parents, William and Pauline Novak, and his sister, Karen Coulter. John is survived by his daughters, Lesley Wyman, and Jocelyn (and Brian) Smilde; his grandchildren, Hannah and Ella Wyman, and Isaiah and Caeden Smilde; his former wives, Patricia Novak and Donna Stevens; his brother-in-law, Riley Coulter; and his nephews, David Coulter, Mark (and Brenda) Coulter, and his niece, Sharlene (and Bret) Cunningham. Also, for all those that knew John, he had a love for all of his dogs. He leaves behind his
beloved Pixie, who was his best companion and protector right until the day he entered the hospital for the last time. She adored him.

John had a love of people and food. He would always share about his visits and those that brought him a meal or stopped by to say hi. Thank you to all of his friends that supported him through his illness, brought him meals, visited him, cleaned his house for him, prayed for him and were just overall there to support him. Your friendship and love for John did not go unrecognized and will always be
remembered.

The family would like to thank all of the nursing and medical staff, along with John’s palliative care team of doctors on the 3 rd floor MACU at Southlake Regional Health Center for all of their care and support.

Please join us for a Celebration of Life service on January 13, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. The service will be held at Keswick Christian Church 2 Old Homestead Road, Keswick ON L4P 3C8) with Pastor Michael Gibney officiating. A luncheon will follow the service. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to John’s home church, Belhaven Free Methodist Church.    Belhaven Free Methodist Church