John Hugh Campbell

John died suddenly but peacefully on October 10, 2026 at the Carlingwood Retirement Community in Ottawa at the age of 90 years. He remained sharp and active until the end. He will be remembered in many ways: a father, a devoted and loving husband to his wife Pauline (predeceased), a grandfather, the bedrock of the family, a brother, an engineer, a builder of cottages and solver of problems, a fire builder, a serious bridge player, a gardener, a reader, an amateur artist, and, quite simply, a fine, open-minded and generous man.

He was born on December 7, 1935 to Annie and Gordon Campbell. The third of five children, he was raised on the Campbell family farm on Second Line West (now Chinguacousy Road), outside Cheltenham, Ontario, with Bruce, Ann, Doug (all predeceased) and Lorne. He spent his youth as a farmer’s son, so a milker of cows, a keeper of sheep and pigs, and a piler of bales of hay and straw. (His work in the chicken coop paid his way to early university.) He attended primary school at the Boston Mills School, a one room stone schoolhouse along the Credit River, and in second grade was scolded for spending time throwing rocks into the Credit instead of showing up at school. He attended Brampton District High where he was on the football and track teams. They called him Mr. 880 for his first place finish in the 880 yard (800 m) race.

After high school, one option for his future was the owner of a neighbouring farm. Instead, he chose to attend the University of Toronto, specializing in electrical engineering. He put himself through his schooling as a Lieutenant in the Army Reserves.

After graduating, he got his first job at the Spruce Falls paper mill in Kapuskasing, a multicultural town (which it still is), in northern Ontario. He did not realize that Ontario extended so far north or could be so cold. He stayed at the Kapuskasing Inn, learned how to ice fish in the winter and how to swat black flies in the summer. He even bought a canoe. For a young man, Kap was a wonderful place to be.

His life changed again: he met Pauline Guillaume, a young French-Canadian woman, on the curling rink. She was the ‘smartest woman he had ever met’, and soon she became the love of his life. They married in 1961. They skipped the reception, as you often did those days, and started their honeymoon towards the Gaspé in a 1957 Chevrolet, which seemed to break down every few hundred miles.

John and Pauline moved to a small house at 9 Bowman Ave. in Kapuskasing, which forever was referred to as ‘ninebowman’. John improved his French language skills up to a ‘Robert Stanfield’ level with the help of his in-laws. Children were born: first Michael in 1962 and Danny in 1963.

John then got a job at the E.B. Eddy paper mill in Ottawa/Hull, and the young family moved south. They spent a short stint in Hull, where Robert was born in 1966, and then moved to 1886 Illinois Ave in Ottawa, where they stayed for 57 years. It was a new subdivision, and they joined many young families with a multitude of kids. They made many friends. The house became a rendez-vous point for children’s hide-n-seek and street hockey, family fireworks displays and parent’s bridge nights.

Pauline bought some land in 1970 along the shore of Lac Cuillèrier near Notre-Dame-du-Laus in Québec, a couple of hours drive from Ottawa. John and Pauline and the young boys spent the next few years slowly (very slowly) building a cottage over weekends and holidays, with a hammer, a saw, a level, a square and a sledge – no power tools. It took at least four years to get the roof on. After a long day of hammering and sawing, John would go for a swim in the lake and float on his back – he was a floater – and look up to the sky. Heaven.

Christiane was born in 1975 as a ‘happy afterthought’. Pauline and John finally had their beautiful daughter.

John and Pauline finally finished the cottage and then an addition. They piled big bonfires and lit them in the fall to clear the driftwood from the shore. The cottage became the meeting place for extended family and friends. John and Pauline loved hosting everyone.

John continued at E.B. Eddy (which became Domtar) and would stay there until he retired. Pauline and John then travelled. They took multiple trips to France, to Alaska, to Myrtle Beach, to Scotland and to Ireland as well as trips to the Brampton area, Kapuskasing and Las Vegas to see family and friends.

Pauline began to suffer from dementia before the pandemic. John cared for her for several years, and they finally moved to the Carlingwood Retirement Community in 2023. After further decline, Pauline passed in 2025. (https://www.dignitymemorial.com/en-ca/obituaries/ottawa-on/pauline-campbell-12379171) Those last few years were difficult for John, but he remained a devoted husband to the end.

John came to appreciate the Carlingwood Community and his apartment. He had a view of the kids in the neighbourhood park, the Ottawa River and the Gatineau Hills. He would play euchre, listen to concerts, do chair yoga and walk daily his 0.8 km with his walking sticks. He even was a ‘Grandpal’ to a couple of boys at Woodroffe Avenue Public School, who appreciated hearing John talk about his life.

He passed peacefully and will be missed by those whose lives he touched.

A Celebration of Life will be held for John at McEvoy-Shields Funeral Home (1411 Hunt Club Road, Ottawa) on November 14, 2026 with visitation at 1 PM, a service at 2 PM, followed by a reception, for everyone who wishes to share and commemorate John’s life.

For those who wish, in lieu of flowers, the family encourages a gift to commemorate John and Pauline to either the Peter D. Clark centre by writing a cheque to ‘City of Ottawa – Peter D. Clark’ with ‘Donor’s Trust’ noted in the memo section, or a gift to the Dementia Society of Ottawa and Renfrew County (https://dementiahelp.ca/ways-to-give/ways-to-donate/donate-today/).