Mr. John Florence of North Battleford passed away peacefully on October 27, 2014, at the age of 71 years. John David Florence was born on April 20th, 1943 in Wilkie, SK to Percy Florence and Jean Florence, (nee McLaren). John leaves behind to cherish his memory his loving wife: Patricia Florence, his daughter Michele (Mark) Matlock and their children: Adam and Amber his sons: Travis (Michelle) Florence and their son, Burke Florence Scott (Rachel) Florence and their children: Sara, Zane, Cloe and Bryn his brother: Robert "Bob" Florence and his beloved dog Zena. John attended elementary and high school at McLurg School in Wilkie. He had numerous hobbies including being a member of the air cadets, playing some sports like hockey, baseball and also took up the trumpet for awhile. He soon became interested in cars, motorcycles and girls (not sure of the order). John's older brother Glen Florence Sr. was in the process of building a new stockyard and sales ring in Wilkie. John went to work for him and in the months that followed the yards became a reality. Glen decided to give some direction to John and offered to send him to Billings, Montana to attend the Western College of Auctioneering, When he returned he went back to work with Glen in Lloydminster at the live stockyards. This is where the two greatest changes in John's life were to take place. While in Lloyd he met a beautiful young lady by the name of Patricia Pattison who he fell in love with. She became his wife and soul mate for the next 47 years. His career took off in the livestock and auctioneering business. He spent 25 years with the Saskatchewan Pool Division. Pat and John lived in and around North Battleford where they raised their family for 47 years. John loved quading the hills, raising a few head of cattle, some chickens or showing up at the farm with something odd, like a goat or beefalo. When John set his mind to something he was all in, we learned a lot from him about the outdoors and he loved to explore. John loved spending weekends with his family at the lake or going on fishing trips to Canoe or Keeley Lake. If he has a two week window you'd find the family loading up and touring the Rocky Mountains.John and Pat purchased the North Battleford Nutters franchise in 1988 and John's entrepreneur skills and hard work proved a successful 26 years to this point. Unfortunately John never did get the chance to retire, he left us too early. John had a larger than life personality and was fierce in his convictions. He loved adventure and he loved his toys including his strange vans, the Argo, the Kubota's which he would switch the wheels with tracks, he loved his dogs and he especially loved Gran (Pat)! Over the years he travelled several times to BC he trekked into lakes not on any map, visited natural hot springs down the side of a mountain, then went in search for more in the area - because if there is one, there are probably more - and there were! You may have seen John over the past few years driving around town. Yep, that was him in his right hand drive van, he liked that one so much, he bought another one - just a big smaller! John also had a love of his dogs and could sometimes be spotted stopping at restaurants to order special food just for the dogs. John's grandchildren knew their grandpa. He was present in their lives. They had activities and adventures that they will never forget. He was at every birthday, the kid's hockey games, countless vacations in Saskatchewan and through Canada and busy days at the farm. He was very intelligent man and had a thist for knowledge which I think is a trait he passed on to his children. He was eager to share his information with all of us. Listening to his stories would earn his respect and if you did decided to eat only organic, try his Chaga tea or throw out your microwave he was especially pleased. John was strong in his convictions. Anything bought from China was frowned upon. In fact anything not made of real wood or 100 percent wool you may as well not buy. He liked a challenge. For years he would hand cut enough wood to get him through winter. John's big personality and funny faces will always be remembered. He was left us with many great stories and his laugh will continue to ring in our ears.
