McCARNAN, George Jackson “Jack” - August 15, 1932 - May 25, 2022
True to form, Jack wanted to have the last word so he pre-emptively wrote his own obituary a few months ago.
In his draft he talked about his kids, Sherry, Drew (Bonnie) and Jacquie, his beloved grandchildren Vicki MacLaughlan (David), Nathan and Aisha McCarnan and Layne and Shaye O’Donnell and, adored, great-grandsons William and Roger MacLaughlan.
He continued with “Jack was a life insurance agent with North American Life and Manulife for 60 years.
He was a Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) and Chartered Financial Planner (CFP) and a member of the Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) retiring in 2014.”
“There will be no funeral service and cremation has taken place. Jack was a Past President of the Oshawa Golf and Country Club and a member for 57 years.”
He left out the date of his death, May 25, 2022. He was good, but he wasn’t that good.
His version of his obituary was brief and full of facts but didn’t really tell the story of a life well-lived.
Born in 1932, Jack grew up during the depression and then the 2nd World War. There wasn’t much in those days but he managed to socialize and attend dances. That’s where he found the absolute love of his life, Alice. He offered her and her friends a ride home…the rest is, as they say, history. More than 70 years of history.
Together “Fast Jack” and “Big Al” worked side-by-side to build a life that was far beyond either of their expectations. Through his career with North American Life and Manulife, Jack and Alice travelled the world together.
They took up skiing and golf and curling and built a wonderful community of friends. In fact, they were so social that we were shocked to find that entertaining or going out every Friday or Saturday night wasn’t something every adult did!
Was he the perfect man, husband, dad, grandfather, great gpa? Probably not but, we know he landed on the top part of the plus side. It’s tough to find any flaws today. To all of us, he was always there with advice, comfort and a shaggy dog story.
He loved his career and was great at it too. So much so that he worked well into his 80’s taking care of his clients. He used to say that “when someone dies and everything is in chaos my job is to provide comfort and a cheque without hassle.” He prided himself on the being able to do that for so many people throughout the years.
He wouldn’t want an obituary filled with embellishments and flourishes. He’d want it to the point so, here’s the point:
Jack McCarnan has left us. He will be so very greatly missed by everyone. He takes with him one half of a wonderful team that produced generations of wonderful people.
He didn’t have a great start but boy did he make up for it! In his own words: “Not bad for a guy who left school 3 weeks into grade 11.”
Donations, in memory of Jack McCarnan, can be made to the Oshawa Hospital or the Kidney Foundation and would be greatly appreciated by the family.
A celebration of life is planned for July 10, 2022.
Please contact Jacquie at
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