Obituary of John Darling

<h1>John Darling</h1> 1914 - 2006 After a brief illness, John died peacefully surrounded by his family at Grand River Hospital on Wednesday, October 18, 2006, in his 93rd year. John was the beloved husband and best friend of Doris K. (Geil) for 67 wonderful years. He was the loving father of Dianne Darling of Waterloo and Douglas Darling and his wife Joyce Wilson of Mannheim. He will also be missed by his brother-in-law Lloyd Geil and wife Dannie of London and their two daughters Andrea Lee and Susan Scott and their families. John was predeceased by his parents John T. and Catherine Darling of London Ontario. During WW II he was on active service as an officer in the Royal Canadian Artillery. While overseas he served as a regimental officer in three artillery regiments and was one of two Canadians with the British Army at Headquarters 21 Army Group in the Planning and Operations Sections for the invasion of Normandy. John retired as Marketing Administration Executive of The Mutual Life Assurance Company of Canada (SunLife) after 42 years of service. He was active in a number of life insurance industry organizations, including The Life Insurance Management Research Association, Hartford, Conn. John was very active in many community organizations. His passion for education saw him involved at local, provincial and international levels. John served as a Public School Trustee for 30 years, including Chair of the Kitchener Public School Board and inaugural chair of the Waterloo County School Board. He was a man of honesty, integrity, and high principles and as a result has been honoured and recognized in many ways; including being one of the first three individuals elected as a Fellow of the Institute by OISE, the Lamp of Learning Award by the OSSTF, the Greer Memorial Award by the Ontario Education Association, the Canadian Centennial Medal 1967 and the 125th Anniversary of Confederation of Canada Medal in 1992 for both education and community service. John enjoyed his family and friends, the cottage, photography, travel and participating in various activities with students and staff at John Darling Public School, which was named after him. The family is very grateful for the care and kindness shown to John by the doctors and staff at Grand River Hospital. Friends are invited to share their memories of John with his family during visitation at Erb &amp; Good Family Funeral Home, 171 King Street South, Waterloo, on Saturday from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. A service to celebrate John’s life will be held in the chapel of the funeral home on Sunday, October 22, 2006, at 2 p.m., with Rev. Jack Paleczny officiating. Immediately following the service, friends and relatives are invited to the Fireside Reception Room of the funeral home for refreshments and a time to visit with the family. In John’s memory, donations to the St. Mary’s Regional Cardiac Care Centre, the Grand River Regional Cancer Centre or the John Darling Public School would be appreciated as expressions of sympathy and may be arranged through the funeral home, 519.745.8445 or www.erbgood.com In living memory of John, a tree will be planted through the Trees for Learning Program by the funeral home.