John David Nolan – B. Sc.
Jan. 3, 1940 – Feb. 24, 2026
John David Nolan – B. Sc. of St. Thomas, Ontario (formerly of Owen Sound, Geraldton, Sudbury and Ottawa (Bowesville).
John passed away at St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital on the night of February 24, 2026, after months of declining health. He was 86.
John was born in Ottawa, Ontario on January 3, 1940, to Jack Nolan (d. 1992) and Irene (nee Potvin) Nolan (d. 2007). He was born into the Bowesville farming community just south of Ottawa, now part of the Ottawa International Airport complex.
In 1948, the family moved to Sudbury, Ontario, settling in the city’s West End where John attended St. Clement’s Church, St. Albert’s Separate School and St. Charles College.
In 1959, he enrolled in the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Forestry, graduating in 1964 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Forestry. That same year, he began employment with the Woodlands Division of the KVP Company Limited, based at Espanola, Ontario, working as an assistant to the District Logging Engineer in the company’s West Branch and Sudbury Districts.
In 1967, he began a 27-year career with the Ontario Department of Lands and Forests (ODLF), later to become the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR) as a Unit Forester in Geraldton, Ontario. In 1971, he transferred to Owen Sound in a similar capacity and in 1974 was appointed Forest Management and Field Services Supervisor in Aylmer, Ontario, settling in nearby St. Thomas, where he spent the rest of his life. From 1979 until his retirement in 1994, he worked as a Forestry Specialist under various headings out of OMNR’s Aylmer and London offices.
Following retirement and until 2009, he engaged in some consulting work, mainly as a Managed Forest Plan Approver (MFPA) under OMNR’s Managed Forest Tax Incentive Program (MFTIP), preparing and approving Managed Forest Plans for private landowners seeking tax relief on the wooded portions of their properties.
Strongly dedicated to the forestry profession and with a desire to maintain close contact with his peers in the profession, John remained active in forestry circles well into his retirement. This was done through active membership in various forestry organizations by attending meetings, workshops and conferences locally, provincially and nationally until 2019, when mobility issues and the onslaught of COVID greatly curtailed his activities. From 1994 until 2012, he served as a Councillor for the Southern Ontario Section of the Canadian Forestry Institute (CIF) and in 2014, he was recognized for fifty years of membership in the Institute at a joint meeting of the CIF with the Society of American Foresters (SAF) in Salt Lake City, Utah.
A Roman Catholic, John was a member of the Parish Council of his home parish (St. Anne’s) in St. Thomas for several years. His main duty was the regular counting of the Sunday collection.
A longtime 3rd Degree member of the Knights of Columbus, John served as their Recording Secretary for years in the Geraldton, Owen Sound and St. Thomas Councils.
A life-long fan of traditional, hardcore country (including bluegrass) music, John loved to play the guitar and sing – a passion ignited as a youngster, listening to his father play the guitar and sing the old-time country and Irish ballads that told a story – many of which would eventually find their way into John’s expanding repertoire. John’s biggest influences in the entertainment world were the music of Jimmie Rodgers (the Singing Brakeman), Hank Williams Senior, Hank Snow, Roy Acuff, Kitty Wells and Bill Monroe. His favourite “non-country” act was the Irish folk-singing quintet, the Dubliners.
Other interests and activities over the years included family history, live theatre, photography, travel, hunting and fishing, ice skating, long-distance hiking and cross-country skiing. Among his proudest accomplishments were hiking the entire length of the Bruce Trail from Niagara to Tobermory and steering an effort to close a 40+ km gap between two local hiking trails west of St. Thomas/London. This latter effort helped to link the Village of Port Stanley on Lake Erie to a system of 1340 km of continuous hiking trail in Ontario.
John is survived by brother Dan (wife Patricia) of North Vancouver and Tim (wife Joyce) of Sudbury and sister Rita (friend Gray) of Mississauga. Also surviving are several nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews, great-great niece, cousins and close friends.
Family and friends will be received at Williams Funeral Home, 45 Elgin Street, St. Thomas, Ontario on Friday, March 13, 2026 from 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. The family respectfully requests that attendees wear a mask to protect the fragile health of family members.
Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Anne’s Church, 20 Morrison Street, St. Thomas, Ontario on Saturday, March 14, 2026 at 10:00 a.m.
Interment to follow in Holy Angels’ Cemetery in a plot overlooking the Kettle Creek Valley and the Elgin Hiking Trail which John played a key role in establishing.
If desired, memorial donations may be made to Lung Health Foundation, Heart & Stroke Foundation or a charity of your choice.
The family would like to thank the staff of Metcalfe Gardens Retirement Home, the staff of the Emergency, ICU and Fifth Floor of the St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital, GP Dr. Mateusz Zajac and all of John’s specialists, for their outstanding care of John over the years.
“When He cometh descending from Heaven,
On the cloud that He writes in His Word,
I’ll be joyfully carried to meet Him,
On the wings of that great speckled bird.”
“The Great Speckled Bird”, written by Reverend Guy Smith and popularized by Roy Acuff.