Obituary of Jon Darren Jennekens
With profound sadness, we announce the sudden passing of Jon Darren Jennekens.
Darren is survived by his children, Avery Jennekens Meron (Greg Meron) and Heyden Jennekens; mother Norah Jennekens and sisters, Sandra Jennekens-Leger (Anthony Leger) and Jennifer Jennekens as well as a dear aunt, loving nieces, nephews and cousins, long-time friends and schoolmates. Darren is predeceased by his father, Jon Jennekens and his younger brother, Jon Jennekens.
Darren was born May 3rd 1960 in Deep River, and grew up in Port Elgin and the Alta Vista neighbourhood of Ottawa. He made many lifelong friends in his childhood, all of whom will continue to vividly remember him for his quick wit and as the loveable class clown. His adoration for nature and creating things with his hands surely began when he built his family cottage, “Wood-a-Bin” on Brule Lake, outside Ottawa with his father in 1969 at only 9 years old. He then spent many years as a dedicated caretaker of the family cottage and property, keeping it a beautiful space for all to enjoy.
Darren showcased his tender and compassionate heart as a ‘Big Brother’ mentoring and nurturing ‘Little Brothers’ throughout his early adulthood. He was the life of the party as “DJ the disc jockey” for many years in Ottawa and Toronto, while simultaneously putting himself through a broadcasting degree. He was a true sports fan, loving to watch and debrief about all his favourite teams with his parents. Darren was an incredible athlete himself, naturally taking up waterskiing, snow skiing, hockey, and football.
His green thumb was legendary to all who knew him, planting 1000s of trees over his lifetime in public parks, school yards, for neighbours and friends and of course all the places he called home. One of his favourite pastimes was tossing millions of native tree and wildflower seeds along highways and boulevards of city streets to increase green spaces and encourage biodiversity.
He was also passionate and highly skilled in his profession as CEO and Owner of “Bullseye” Video Post Production based in downtown Toronto throughout the 1990s and 2000s (often replacing his own name credit in his work with his childrens’) before he eventually was able to pursue his hearts true calling by owning his own tree farm and landscape company.
Darren was loved by so many and will be faithfully remembered for his wacky and charming sense of humour, his unfaltering passion for the environment, his incredible taste in music and his gentle, kind, and indomitable spirit. He was a forever learner, avid reader and hobby-researcher which kept him open-minded, humble, and generous. Darren was taken from us far too early, but we will strive to find peace in knowing he is reunited with his little brother “Wee Jon” whom he loved and missed so dearly.
In lieu of flowers, a donation can be made in his name to https://artofsoil.ca/donate. Darren would be honoured to know that your love for him has been paid forward to a charity working towards creating a positive environmental impact.
A celebration of life will be held at a later date.