Obituaries

John Karl Antero Alonius

John Karl Antero Alonius, 59, of Winnipeg, passed away unexpectedly on August 22, 2022 at the age of 59. He passed away in a tragic workplace accident. He is survived by his sons, Kyle (Gosha), Derek, daughter, Marissa (Mike), grandchildren, Derek Jr. and Madison. John also leaves behind his parents Eila and Toivo, brother, Tony, his nieces and nephews, Amanda, Ashley, TJ, Jessie, and the mother of his children, Angelena.

John was born in Sweden in 1962 and immigrated to Canada in 1967. John grew up in Winnipeg and attended J.B. Mitchell School. After school, John worked many jobs including as a salesman until ultimately finding long-term success as a long haul truck driver working for numerous companies such as Day & Ross and Levski Logistics and for himself as an owner-operator. John spent time in his later years training to become a welder in order to work in the city and be closer to his family and friends. He received his Industrial Fabrication and Welding Certificate from Winnipeg Industrial Skills Training Centre in 2022 and was excited to begin working in the profession.

John was a devoted father, grandfather, son, brother, uncle, and was close with his family. He was a generous and loving father to his children and a wonderful grandfather to his grandkids. He worked hard for his entire life to provide for his family and give them as many opportunities as he could. He was always there for his family to lend a hand, offer advice, or just to talk. Though his job often took him away from his family, he was always close at heart at the end of a phone line, and relished in his time at home with his family at hockey games, school events, and family cabin trips.

John was a kind, caring, and jovial man. He was outgoing and loved to strike up a conversation with anybody he met during his daily activities. Even people who had only met him once or twice remembered him quickly due to his positivity and willingness to chat and share his interests. John was an avid fisherman, sports fan, and always loved to talk about fishing, barbecuing, and sports with friends and family. John loved having a cottage at Moose Lake earlier in his life and spent his later years returning to the lake for fishing trips and enjoying nature.

John aka Johnny-Mac, John-O, Pops was an eccentric man and was known by friends and family for many “John-isms” such as his vulcan nerve pinch which was applied to those who knew him closest when they least expected it, his referring to friends and family as “long-lost”  when he had seen or spoken to them only a week prior, or his uncanny ability to fish so frequently and return with so few fish. John’s most notable “John-ism” was perhaps his tendency to use the phrase “long story short” or “to cut a long story short” while continuing to tell a very long story filled with superfluous details. He would interrupt himself numerous times to cut the story short and then proceed to fill in every detail. John and his “John-isms” will be greatly missed by his family and friends as will his long short-stories which provided wisdom and humour to those who had the pleasure of hearing them.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Manitoba Provincial Parks Endowment Fund through The Winnipeg Foundation, specifically to the General Fund or Whiteshell Fund, in John’s honour.