January 22, 1948 - June 8, 2023
John Switzer passed away peacefully on June 8, 2023, at his farm on Gabriola Island surrounded by family and friends. He was predeceased by his parents and sister and is survived by his sons and ex-wife.
John was born on January 22, 1948, in Brandon, Manitoba to Frederick and Mildred Switzer. They lived in Carberry, Manitoba where his dad owned the local grocery store, until the family moved to Norwood in St. Boniface.
After he left school, John and a friend went to Montreal with the intention of getting jobs on a freighter and going to Europe. Events took a different turn and they returned to Winnipeg where John met his future wife, Teresa.
They married in 1970 and had two children, Christopher, and Ryan. The family moved to Vancouver in 1973, eventually settling in Marpole.
John took up organic growing when Teresa wanted a little veg garden and John took over the project, eventually turning the entire yard over to vegetable beds. For two decades, John worked at the Versatile Pacific Shipyard in North Vancouver.
When the shipyard closed in 1992, his life took a turn towards environmental volunteering and farming, and he worked as a farmhand at Edenvale and then Glorious Garnish and Seasonal Salads Company at Fraser Common Farm Co-operative.
In 1998, the Glen Valley Organic Farm Co-op was formed to purchase a 50-acre property on Bradner Road in Abbotsford. John was active with the co-op and started volunteering two days a week before becoming the full-time farmer at Glen Valley.
While growing food, John also found himself helping to grow a community of like-minded people involved in small-scale organic farming. He served on the board of the Vancouver Food Policy Organization, the BC Association for Regenerative Agriculture, which helped to establish certified organic standards in BC, and Farm Folk City Folk.
At one point, John described himself as a "passiveactivist"— living the changes that need to be made in the world rather than talking about them — "it's the doing it that is my statement."
After mentoring successor farmers at Glen Valley, John retired in April 2011 to Gabriola Island, where he set-up a small vegetable farm and sought a new beginning as a community resource. With his signature brown hat, beard, and dogs Libby and Tilly, John became a fixture at the farmers market and all things farming on Gabriola, banging the drum for localization, food security, and systems change.
He mentored many Gabriola growers, was active in the grain co-op, the South Commons, and he served on the Islands Trust Gabriola Island Agricultural Advisory Commission. He loved giving tours of his farm, giving away vegetables, and sharing his deep knowledge of farming and ecology.
Always seeking like-minded people, John was an active member or supporter of many organizations including the Vancouver Mycological Society, the David Suzuki Foundation, Doctors Without Borders, Oxfam, and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
On Gabriola he supported People for a Health Community (PHC), GaLTT, GIRO, and the school PAC.
It takes a village and so special thanks to all of the doctors and staff at the Gabriola Medical Clinic, especially Dr. Cusack, Dr. Mierzewski, Dr. Thorne, Nathalie, and Carol. The large Island Health team of home support nurses, occupational therapists, community health workers, pharmacists and friends who looked after John over the years at home.
Thanks also to the staff of the Nanaimo Hospital and Dufferin Place nursing home and to Dr. Workun-Hill for making it possible for John to return home to his farm to say good-bye on his terms.