A moment of silence was held in Wellington North’s council chambers on June 29, and Mayor Mike Broomhead gave an emotional commentary prior to the council meeting.
His voice trembled as he described the loss of “an important member of community in a great friend to all of us … Jack Johnson. Jack meant a lot to all of us.
“He brought to the table all the leadership qualities we hope to achieve in our life, and brought a lot of things to our council.
“He was our MPP for years, mayor of the Town of Mount Forest. I had the pleasure of being on council with Jack."
Broomhead offered a Johnson story to share. His personal experience came when he first decided to run for council, and Jack was the first person to come and talk council business with him – Johnson was an MPP at the time.
Johnson offered information and guidance.
“Every year, when I ran for council, I went to Jack’s house and we sat in the back kitchen with Jack and Marnie. Jack was very encouraging and gave some good advice. And always about 10 minutes when I knew it was time to go, Marnie would leave the room and then Jack would say what he really thought about me. When you think about an ambassador for the community and things we should personally strive for, Jack was a good example.”
“All our prayers are with Jack and his family.”
