We regret to advise of the death of Captain John “Jack” Lestock Reid (Ret’d) in Edmonton AB on 8 April 2000 at the age of 89.
Jack was born and raised in Edmonton AB. He left part way through university to work as a surveyor with the Highways Branch of Alberta Public Works in the early 1930s. He remained with the Highways Branch until 1937 when, following formal survey training at Montana State College in Bozeman Montana, he joined the Aviation Division of the Alberta Department of Transport as a land surveyor.
In 1941 Jack was commissioned into the Corps of Royal Canadian Engineers. Following officer training, he was posted to the Headquarters Staff of Military District 13 in Calgary AB where he was involved in the designs and layouts of the new army camps at Wainwright, Wetaskiwin and Lethbridge, AB. In 1943 he was put in charge of constructing the Prisoner of War camp at Medicine Hat AB, including all building and services. He was promoted to Captain and in February 1944 deployed to the European Theatre where he served in the 2nd Canadian Corps, involved primarily in the construction of roads and bridges. Jack was wounded during a major Rhine Crossing operation in March 1945 and spent many months in convalescence prior to returning to Canada where he was demobilized in September 1945.
Following the war, Jack worked on power line construction in Saskatchewan until 1947 when he began a long career as an engineer with the Alberta Power Commission. In May 1951, Jack became a member of the Alberta Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists and Geophysicists. In June of that same year he joined the Engineering Institute of Canada (EIC). He later was awarded Life Memberships in both organisations. In the early 1950s, Jack also joined a number of service clubs, including Royal Canadian Legion, Canukeena Club Outpost #3, the Sappers Club and the Military Engineers Association of Canada, where he served as Northern Alberta Branch President from 1977 to 1979. Jack remained active in all of these service clubs until his passing. In addition to the service clubs Jack was a longtime member of the Elks. {gdMar2016kh}
