John Ponsford

 

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From John Valk:

On Wednesday April 22nd at 10:05 a.m. the fly fishing community in Ontario lost one of its most genuine, sincere and best loved members. John Ponsford.

John was a great teacher who taught thousands the art of fly tying. Whether you were a beginner or seasoned tier, John had special methods and techniques that he shared with anyone who walked through the door. He has been teaching at Grindstone for the 16 years we have been in business. The local fly-tying clubs had John in for presentations and he was very popular through-out the community. He also has created many of the guide patterns we use and many of our clients from all over the globe have landed not just trout but very large trout on his signature caddis patterns.

John was always the gentleman. ‘Please’ and ‘thank-you’ were the most often used words in his vocabulary and this great man always put everyone else above himself. It didn’t matter what John was doing but it could always wait for a friend who needed help. As recently as 4 weeks ago, he made a special trip to the shop on his way to work to drop off a fly pattern book for a customer to borrow for a specific pattern. That was John. Every-one at the shop and all of our customers will miss him greatly.

To Carolyn, John’s wife, Jeff and Jennifer and her children, our deepest sympathies are with you, you lost the most wonderful husband, father and grandfather. The passing of John is a shock to all of us.

As per Johns wishes his family will not be having a formal funeral service.

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