Advocate and all-around great guy

Even from his hospital bed, nearing the end of his life, army veteran and environmentalist John Fefchak was writing letters to the editor on issues involving the environment and water quality. His focus? Justice.

For the father, grandfather, storyteller and tireless advocate giving his heart and soul and time, it was all about doing what was right.

“John was not only a frequent letter-to-the-editor writer, but also one who was passionate about that section where readers got their say,” said Paul Samyn, Free Press editor. “He would often let me know what he had submitted in hopes that letter would soon be published. I was so touched when I realized that passion never dimmed even when he was hospitalized and he was nearing death, as he was still submitting letters and asking for my help to get them published.”

Fefchak died on June 10, 2025, at age 91.

Born in 1933 on a farm in the RM of Pipestone in Southwest Manitoba, his first school was a one-room building called Clover Hill. In 1944, his family moved to a farm in the Virden area, where he attended another one-room school and was expected to arrive early during the cold months to start the fire in the woodstove.

In 1951, at age 17, Fefchak took the bus to Brandon and joined the Royal Canadian Air Force, leading to a 31-year career. As a crewman with 108 Communications Flight, he flew on helicopters working on the mid-Canada radar installations across the North. It was then that he met and married his first wife, Florence, in 1956. By 1970, he was based at Air Transport Command in Trenton, Ont., where he dealt with the maintenance and comings and goings of Boeing 707 and Hercules aircraft.

“For a farm boy from Manitoba, his life became one adventure after another,” said his daughter Judie.

“Imagine enjoying pizza for the first time while out on the town with fellow airmen on a training trip to the U.S.,” she said, “or being in the audience of the Ed Sullivan Show (the boys dropped in at the USO in downtown New York City where they managed to get tickets), or flying into the far northern base of Alert (the northernmost permanently inhabited point in the world).”

Fefchak witnessed the landing of the Avro Arrow while at work on the base at Trenton, the only time the aircraft landed at a base other than its home at Malton, Ont.

“That is probably one of my greatest memories,” Fefchak wrote.

In 1976, Fefchak met his second wife, Norma. Soon after their marriage the couple headed west on a transfer to Moose Jaw. There, he served as senior technical co-ordinator for the Snowbirds. He retired in 1982 as chief warrant officer, and returned to Virden, where they lived out their final years in the home they built — full of happy memories.

“He was a man of integrity,” his daughter said. “He was a lifelong learner. Although he finished his schooling in Grade 8, he continued to learn throughout his life and successfully wrote his GED exam when he was in his 40s. Dad lived long enough to remember a time when the environment was in a much better place than it is today,” she added.

“While on the farm as a boy, he spent much of his time outdoors, exploring, working, chopping wood, playing, hunting and fishing. He realized then, in some way, that he was part of the natural world — a world that his family relied on, a world where everything is interconnected.”

When a group of concerned citizens came together to form Hog Watch Manitoba in 2000, Fefchak quickly joined, attending meetings and continuing to contribute throughout the years. The group was comprised of a diverse community, including farmers, scientists, social justice and animal welfare advocates, environmentalists and rural residents — all concerned about the multiple negative impacts of factory barns.

“His memory of historical events, both in the hog industry and other important societal issues, was extraordinary,” said Vicki Burns, former executive director of the Winnipeg Humane Society.

“It became very evident that John was a compassionate, principled human being who cared deeply about humans, animals and every element of the natural world,” said Burns. “His attention was focused outwards on injustices that he saw and that he knew could be changed. His communication was always respectful and well informed. I held great admiration for his commitment and contributions to animal welfare and environmental protection.”

Friend Bonnie Nay describes Fefchak as an officer and a gentleman.

“In 2005, my sister Lois and I were working with our community of Ninga to stop a 10,000-pig factory feeder operation from going into the neighbourhood,” Nay said.

“I was following a writer in the Free Press who seemed to understand how wrong it was to run huge numbers of pigs in confinement factories.”

John Fefchak understood the negative impacts that factory hog operations had on the air, water, and soil and on the welfare of the animals. Nay tracked him down and began a lifelong friendship of support and respect.

“John helped us and put us in touch with others,” she said. “We became friends as well as activists to protect our water, soil, air and to beg for humane treatment of the pigs. He worked tirelessly to try and make a difference.

“He was a leader and an example of not sitting back, but one of never giving up and always trying to make a difference. John worked tirelessly to advocate for protecting our water, the air, soil and the helpless animals at our mercy.”

In his later life, Fefchak enjoyed giving Remembrance Day talks to students in Virden. He was always up for a game of cards and enjoyed doing a daily sudoku. He liked being active around his home and his land, splitting and hauling wood, well into his eighties.

“He became an advocate for water, for the environment, for the citizen who was treated unfairly by government or big business, for fellow veterans who served in WW2 who deserved better compensation or treatment,” said Judie.

According to his daughter, Fefchak spent his last year advocating for the Canadian government to create a Cold War medal, honouring veterans who served during the Cold War years (1951-1982), concerned about their becoming aged and disappearing.

“He advocated for all of us, really. In caring for the world around us, humankind will in turn thrive. He would be pleased if others continued to voice the importance of clean water and environmental stewardship.”

fpcity@freepress.mb.ca