Dr. Jan (John) Pieter Lucas passed away at the Joseph Brant Hospital in Burlington, Ont., on July 30, 2024, after a fall, at the age of 95.
He was born on May 12, 1929, to Regina and Jan Lucas in Java, Indonesia, when that country was still a Dutch colony. He enjoyed a happy childhood with his brothers Hans and Frits until the Japanese occupation of Indonesia during the Second World War, when the family was confined to house arrest and concentration camp internment.
Like many who endured these experiences, he seldom discussed them with his family but, thanks to the work of Hans and his family, some of these stories have been preserved. They all survived the camps and, after the war, returned to the Netherlands. John always fondly remembered his trip around the world heading back to the Netherlands with Hans and passing through the Suez Canal.
John attended the University of Amsterdam and earned his medical degree in 1961. On graduating, he immigrated to Thunder Bay (then Port Arthur), Ont., that same year. After completing internships at Port Arthur General and Toronto Western Hospital, he became certified in medicine in Canada. Subsequently, he pursued further specialization in anesthesia in Toronto, qualifying in 1968.
In 1962, John met Eva at Toronto Western, where she was working as a nurse. They married in 1963 and enjoyed almost 61 eventful and fulfilling years of marriage together.
He worked his entire career at the Humber River Regional Hospital in Weston, Ont., when it was a smaller community hospital. He served as chief of anesthesia for several periods, reflecting his commitment to the hospital. Reluctantly retiring at 82, John left behind a legacy of hard work and compassion.
Beyond his career, John was an active individual, enjoying pursuits such as jogging, tennis and canoeing. During his time in Holland, he and his brothers embarked on memorable cycling and road trips to France.
He loved reading and being informed, read the newspaper daily, subscribed to multiple magazines and enjoyed reading science fiction and spy novels. He was a decades-long member of his local community centre gym and participated in many 10k charity "fun runs," as he called them.
Hardly a day went by when he didn't listen to music of some sort, and he attended many concerts with Eva at the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
His passion for the outdoors led him on numerous unforgettable white-water canoe trips, starting in his late 50s, often with his son Peter, including on the French and Missinaibi rivers. On one trip, he made it as far as Moosonee, Ont.
John, Eva and the family also spent many summer vacations in Algonquin Park throughout the decades at his much-loved Killarney Lodge, including with his grandchildren Hannah and Trevor.
John is survived by Eva, his son and daughter, and four grandchildren.