John Cheam

CHEAM, John Phillip
April 1, 1954 – September 4, 2024

The family of John Cheam are devastated to announce his sudden and unexpected death on September 4th, 2024 at the age of 70. John leaves behind his one and only Bro, Glenn Cheam (Nancy Radotic), his nieces Valerie (Adam Finch) and Meagan (Julia Gordon) as well as his grandnieces Christina and Rachel and their brothers Bradley and Blake Finch. Also left behind is his friend Joseph Radotic and numerous cousins and friends across the country. He was predeceased by his parents Audrey and Kenneth Cheam.

John was born in Montreal and attended Malcolm Campbell High School followed by Sir George Williams University (now known as Concordia). He moved to Toronto in 1983 and lived there until his retirement from FM Global. With the passing of his mother, he decided he wanted to be closer to his bro, so he moved to Carleton Place and bought himself a bungalow. This move turned out really well and the quiet guy we knew came out of his shell, enjoyed talking with all his neighbours, loved coming over every Sunday for Sunday dinner and relished both the food and camaraderie with everyone. We found out that our John was quite the wine drinker and he had no trouble finding people to share a sip or two (or three or four...). He was very good and always brought a bottle for dinner, but somehow that bottle was very  low by the time dinner came around. As well as being a wine connoisseur, John loved his cars. When he got tired of the Cameros, he moved onto Cadillac and then Mercedes. Never keeping the cars for more than 2 years, he kept upgrading each time – everything except the color grey. He loved his grey cars no matter how much we teased him. His dream of owning a 'Vette never came to fruition because of our winters but that didn't stop him from buying other cars. He was currently considering his next Mercedes – showing us pictures and features excitedly just a few days ago. Hopefully he'll be driving his 'Vette up in Heaven now. Although his love of cars and wine was deep, there was no greater love that John had in this world than his family. Whether it was cracking “uncle John” jokes with his nieces, running around playing with his grandnieces and grandnephews, helping his bro outside in the gardens or driving his sister-in-law crazy in the kitchen, John always cherished and enjoyed these moments with a huge smile on his face and looked forward to each and every gathering.

Funeral services will be held for John on Saturday, September 14th, 2024 at Alan R. Barker Funeral Home; 19 McArthur Ave., Carleton Place. The family will receive condolences from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. followed by the funeral service at 1:00 p.m. in the Chapel. Inurnment will follow at Highland Park Cemetery; 2037 Mcgee Side Road, Carp. Reception to be held at 179 Country Lane Dr., Carleton Place.

Donations can be made to the Ottawa Heart Institute or a charity of your choice.

“You went away so suddenly.
We did not say goodbye.
But brothers can never be parted,
Precious memories never die”

John-Boy we are all going to miss you so very much.

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