John Frederic Shaneman

John Frederic Shaneman was born August 30th, 1941, the son of Elizabeth Johnston and Jack Allen Shaneman. He and his two brothers, Brian and Mark (Jhampa), grew up with his parents on his maternal grandparents’ dairy farm in Duncan, which his dad took over after returning from overseas.

John was left to roam the fields and adjoining woods, including Mount Prevost just on the other side of the Lake Cowichan Highway. It left him with a deep respect for, and ease in, nature and the natural world at large, and he eventually became a keen birder.

At age six, John entered a local grade school for one year, followed by a year at Saint Anne’s school on Tzouhalem Road, and eventually his grandmother sent him to Shawnigan Lake School which he attended until the premature death of his father. His widowed mother sold the farm and moved to West Vancouver where John attended West Vancouver High, and after graduation he apprenticed with Grout Motors. He became interested in hot rods, even winning a trophy or two for his 1934 Ford coupe and forming life-long friendships with some of his car buddies along the way.

In 1967 he married Sandra Cook with whom he had two daughters, Melissa and Emilie. He attended BCIT where he graduated in mechanical technology. In 1974 he moved back to Duncan on Vancouver Island where he purchased a hobby farm from his oldest family friend, Richard Porter. During this ‘Back to the Land’ phase he and Sandra ran a successful stained-glass business, had some livestock, kept bees and had a large orchard and garden.

His work changed from working for local Duncan car dealerships and Olender Auto Care Centre as gradually he established himself as a mobile mechanic, working out of his small garage on the farm.

His marriage dissolved, and he eventually moved to Victoria where he married Joanna Zoltowska, a newly graduated RN, continuing with his mobile car work, commuting between Duncan and Victoria. Along with their children’s respective parents, they raised a blended family with his two daughters and Joanna’s two children, Lilith and Julian.

In the mid 1990's John took over a successful business from Jim Christensen on Burnside Road. He always preferred to work on Japanese cars, taking time to empower his customers by teaching them how to look after their vehicles, but was always available to come to the rescue if needed. His shop became a hub, not just for car repair, but also for interesting conversations, contributing all the while to his search for larger meaning to life’s mysteries through his writing and reading. He was a wonderful cook - his breads were famous - and he loved to preserve the myriad fruit from their garden.

From early on in their relationship, John and Joanna travelled to camp in Mexico, the Pacific Northwest and the Southwest in their trusty Dodge vans which John prided himself on being able to repair in the middle of a desert, or on the side of a highway full of speeding traffic.

In 2006 John sold his business to his neighbour, Guy Laramee, and went to Africa - Kampala in Uganda - with good friends, where they worked on rebuilding wards in Mengo Hospital. He committed to the support of the children of a local worker’s family so they could go to school through sales of his famous bread when back at home, and by enlisting friends to join him in this endeavour. Another year he went to India with his brother, Jhampa Shaneman, for an extended period which he also chronicled in his many letters.

Later, during his retirement, he became involved in playing golf about which he became quite passionate, once even scoring two holes-in-one in the same game.

John has two grandchildren, Melissa’s son Blair and Emilie’s daughter Genevieve.

John loved to share the bounty of their Fifth Street garden with his friends and neighbours in their community. He was generous with his many friends and relatives and had a wonderful sense of humour and loved to tease. He possessed a special knack for working with teenagers and had a strong love of genealogy. He wrote two books for family members, a book for each side of his family, doing extensive research.

Those who loved him feel that his life was cut short at his 80th birthday, but John felt that he had had a good life and faced his imminent passing with courage and grace. An unassuming man, he filled many worlds and changed lives with his generosity. John’s will be an eloquent absence.

His family is grateful to Victoria Hospice and VIHA community nurses for their superlative care. A celebration of life will take place with family only due to pandemic restrictions.

“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” - Maya Angelou