John Patten Fleming, known as Jock, was born on July 21, 1920. He passed away peacefully on June 14, 2017 in his 97th year. Jock was born and raised in Toronto, the second child of Bob Fleming, a Scottish engineer, and Bess Patten Fleming from Little Current, Manitoulin Island. He completed high school at Upper Canada College, finishing in 1938. WWII interrupted his university career, and at the end of third year engineering, he was transferred to northern England with the Perth Regiment in the Canadian Armed Forces. As a lieutenant, he taught soldiers how to build Bailey Bridges. On June 11, 1944 his younger brother Bobby was killed in action in Normandy, France. As a result, Jock joined the front line as part of the Italian campaign. In charge of a platoon, he fought his way from southern Italy north through Europe at night, one farmhouse at a time. Nine months after the war ended in Europe, Jock arrived back home to Toronto where he completed his engineering degree and courted a lovely University of Toronto graduate Zoe Christie. Zoe had also been part of the armed forces and had been stationed in Vancouver during the war as a scientist. Jock and Zoe were married on June 25, 1949 and proceeded to have four children, Zoe (Chip), Nancy, Ann and Rob. They raised their family with one outdoor adventure after another. Weekends and holidays were filled with hiking, canoe tripping, sailing, skiing both downhill and cross country, and camping in any weather. Professionally, Jock started his work life with Canadian General Electric, but moved on to become the estimator, director and president of Cloke Construction Company in Toronto. In 1970 he was president of the Toronto Construction Association. At the age of 50, he preferred to leave management and be his own tradesman to renovate various old homes in Toronto. Retirement with Zoe was filled with trips, maintaining a cottage in northern Georgian Bay without the aid of electricity, and welcoming home their family. He will be missed by his sons-in-law Burnley and Cliff as well as his daughter-in-law, Michelle, with whom he shared a love of art. He also enjoyed his 10 grandchildren Matthew (Chrissi), Jessica (Abdoul), Eric, Sarah, Heather (Saro), Ben, Michelle (Rick), Tessa (Daniel), Emma, and Michael as well as his five great-grandchildren Ian, Greyson, Amina, Djibril, and Sloane. Jock moved to Owen Sound in 2003 and lived in Hanna Walker Place ever since. He will be sorely missed for all the fun he created there. A heartfelt thank you to his Hanna Walker family for loving and caring for Jock for almost 14 years. Friends will be received on Thursday, June 22, 2017 at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, 865 2nd Avenue West, Owen Sound, from 1 pm until the time of the funeral service at 2 pm. Donations in memory of Jock in lieu of flowers may be made to the “Jock Fleming Staff Education Fund” at Hannah Walker Place, Wounded Warriors Canada, or the Bruce Trail Conservancy. Arrangements have been entrusted to the Breckenridge-Ashcroft Funeral Home, 241 9th Street West, Owen Sound, 519-376-2326, with memorial online at www.breckenridgeashcroft.com.
