Obituary of John David Muir

It is with sadness that the family of John David Muir, age 50, announces his death which occurred on Sunday, September 19, 2021 at the Sussex Health Centre.  He was born on August 4,1971 in Sussex, NB a son of the late David and Dale (Tuckey) Muir.

John was born in Sussex and spent much of his childhood in Belleisle Creek. As a child, his favorite pastimes included sliding and skating in the backyard during the winter months and in the summer, he would go fishing or swimming in the local brooks. In his teen years, he often raked blueberries to earn a little extra spending money. He considered it to be all fun and games until a ‘sword fight’ with wooden stakes in the blueberry field led to an eye injury that eventually contributed to a loss of his sight later in life. John was smart but school was definitely not his cup of tea. He regularly found a way to get out of going or would often do little trivial things to get himself expelled. After 14 years of school, he managed to make it to grade 12 but decided that was enough and dropped out before getting his diploma – he was so close!

John began his family at a very young age. He proudly brought six beautiful children into the world, whom he loved and adored immensely. Many summers were spent going to yard sales with Dad and all of us kids looked forward to frequent ice cream on those days, being so close to the Sully's ice cream parlour. He would take us to play pool and when he played the VLT's, he would let us play pool and drink ‘swamp water’ ( orange juice and various types of pop). He was overjoyed when he recently became ‘Grampy Muir’ to four grandchildren and also loved his nieces as though they were his own. John was very close with his mom and spent many days and evenings at her trailer in Alma chit chatting and enjoying the ocean air.

Due to his limited eye sight and health issues, John didn't have a lot of hobbies but he did love to fish and pick fiddleheads. His last fiddlehead adventure involved falling off a log into Trout Creek and going home soaking wet with a broken ankle. He walked to most places, sometimes biked, which resulted in multiple mishaps such as walking into stop signs, running into the wrong side of automatic doors and on occasion, almost getting run over in the street. A couple of years ago, his poor eye sight didn't stop him from going for a drive with no license and then he wondered why he got pulled over and was given a ticket! John's eye sight also was a challenge when it came to preparing his food. He would often char some of his snacks on the stove or in the oven and one time, accidentally mistook cat food for peanuts!  He may have been ‘optically challenged’ but always tried his best to be independent and not be a burden to family and friends. Stubborn was certainly his middle name.

John loved his beer, Alpine in particular! He loved it so much, he always wanted a tattoo of Homer Simpson drinking an alpine. Even though everyone told him he shouldn't drink, he loved to live life to the fullest and do what he enjoyed and who could really blame him - life is short. He was a big fan of packing a tent up and going down by the river to swim and camp out. People would always tell John that he should take it easy for his health but he would always say how stubborn he was and that he would live to be 100 years old just to annoy his kids! Oh how we all wish that were true! John just wanted to do what made him happy regardless of his health limitations.

Even though John was 50, he was a big kid at heart. He loved Scooby-Doo and the Simpsons as well as other retro cartoons. He had a great (but odd) sense of humor and could make anyone laugh, especially with a dirty joke or by doing something disgusting like giving ‘wet willies’.  He enjoyed doing things to gross his kids out like slurping the pork fat from canned beans! He loved the Montreal Canadians, KFC, and always enjoyed his Tim’s coffee with a smoke. All jokes aside, he was a kindhearted man and would do anything for anyone...even if it meant lending his last 20 bucks to someone in need or giving them a place to sleep. John will always be remembered for the many laughs he shared with his family and friends, his loving nature and his kind soul. He will be sorely missed by family and friends, near and far.

John is survived by his children: David Muir (Sara Leavitt), Brandon (Brittany) Muir, Keanu Matthews, Micaela Matthews, Madison (Cody) Constantine, Khole Muir; grandchildren: Scarlett Muir, Ayvah Constantine, Lennon Constantine; sisters: Daphne (Dan) Hamel, Kathleen (David) Thorne, Denise Machum (Chris Allen); brother Anthony Muir (Colette Cottreau), as well as several nieces and nephews.

Arrangements have been entrusted to the compassionate care of Wallace Funeral Home, 34 Sunnyside Drive, Sussex, NB (506-433-1176), from where visitation will be held on Wednesday, September 22, 2021 from 11:00am to 1:00pm.  The funeral service will be held from Wallace Community Chapel on Wednesday, September 22, 2021 at 2:00pm. Due to the recent COVID-19 regulations, Proof of Identification and Vaccination must be provided for entry and masks are mandatory.

Donations in memory of John, may be made to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, CNIB or to a charity of your choice.  Condolences to the family and donations may be made through WallaceFuneralHome.com.