John Charles Hannah passed away peacefully on April 25, 2024. He is lovingly remembered by his daughter Cheryl, son Charles, daughter-in-law Susan, grandchildren Elizabeth (Iain), Theodore, and James, and great-grandson Keith. John was born on March 15, 1939, in New Westminster, BC, and grew up in Keefers, BC, a small railway town in the Fraser Canyon and home to the Hannah family from the 1890s to 1962, when steam gave way to diesel. While at the University of British Columbia studying civil engineering, he met Doreen Danard on a blind date: they were married for 62 years, until Doreen’s death in 2022.
John began his engineering career in BC, travelling around the province to oversee various construction projects; Doreen - based in Victoria with the two children - would load them into the car in the summers to visit him, driving hundreds of miles so they could spend time together as family. John was then based in Kamloops for a few years before moving to Port Hardy, BC, where he led the construction of the employee housing for the Island Copper Mine. After completing that project, John joined the mine and worked his way up to mine manager. John and Doreen were active members of the Port Hardy community for almost 20 years. In 1988, he took the opportunity to move to Antofagasta, Chile, to establish a new copper mine. His international mining career included jobs in Santiago (Chile), Brisbane and Perth (Australia), and Fort McMurrray (Alberta). In 2002, after a lifetime of moving, he and Doreen retired to Hope, BC, where they built the house he’d been designing for more than 40 years. It was beautiful, and they enjoyed living there for many years. Once he had completed the house for his beloved Doreen, John turned to building a retreat in the woods above Keefers - overlooking the old family farm. He also returned to his love of history, exploring the links between Keefers, family stories, and the development of British Columbia. John was, and will forever be, the boy from Keefers.
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