John "Jack" Wayne Ling

John Wayne Ling was born in Rossland, BC, where he spent his younger years playing competitive hockey, lacrosse, and baseball. He was a talented athlete, who enjoyed competing with his siblings on a daily basis. Later in life, he would reminisce about growing up taking shots on his mom, who was also a talented baseball and hockey player.

With dreams of becoming a pilot, Jack joined the Air Force at 20. After finding out he was colour-blind and couldn’t fly planes, he chose to serve as a Radar Technician Ground until 1963. During a brief stay in hospital, Jack met Nancy and she offered to show him around the city. They later married and went on to have two children, Christy and Kathy .

After leaving the Air Force, Jack went into teaching. He fell in love with Robbi while teaching together in Delta, BC. They got married and moved to the Comox Valley where he taught at Puntledge Park Elementary and then Robb Road Middle School. Together they raised their three daughters, Katrina, Tamara, and Jaclyn, there and instilled in them a love of camping, water sports, skiing, music, and card games.

Jack spent the largest portion of his teaching career teaching Grade 7 at Robb Road, where he also taught photography and coached volleyball. He loved to tease his students. He was a much-beloved teacher, and always prided himself on remembering his students, long after they had left his class. Over the years, we got used to having his past students tell us how much they had loved having our dad as a teacher.

Jack enjoyed travelling, fishing, playing golf, and riding his bike. He and Robbi went on many cruises over the years and made new friends everywhere they went. They spent their summers off from teaching, camping with family and friends at Saratoga Beach, Little Qualicum Falls, and Rebecca Spit, or boating to Savory Island. He also enjoyed fishing trips to Bamfield, Grant’s Reef, and Sentry Shoal.

After his wife, Robbi, died in 2023, he went into care at Glacier View Lodge where he provided the staff and residents with a daily dose of humour. Since music was always a constant in his home, it was used to connect him with his past. Even as his memory declined, he would sing or hum some of his favourite songs . Though he may not have remembered you, he always enjoyed a visit and could be won over with a sweet treat. Our family thanks the staff at Glacier View Lodge for appreciating his playful nature and taking such good care of him when we could not.

Jack was predeceased by his wife, Robbi; parents; Bill and Helen; siblings, Pat, Bill, and Jim; niece, Lisa Jean; and nephew, Mike. Jack is survived by his daughters Christy, Kathy, Katrina, Tamara, Jaclyn (Eric); nine grandchildren: Taia, Gianna, Ayla, Lisa, Kallie, Amelie, Lawson, Archer, and Finnian; his brother, Randy, and many nieces and nephews.

A celebration of life has been planned for May 23, 2026, at 2pm, at the Beach Pavilion on Air Force Beach in Comox, BC. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Alzheimer Society of B.C. or Glacier View Lodge.