John Foote
I have received sad news this evening. Our friend and former member, John Foote, passed away on 31 May 2024.
John was 103 years old.
John was a survivor.
He survived the Ballentynes fire during his first job.
He survived World War II, where he saw service in Italy and later as part of J Force in the Pacific.
John had a successful career in textiles and carpet.
As the Auckland manager of Marlin Carpets he led a high achieving team, of which I'm proud to say, I was a member.
After "retiring" John went to work for several years with two former colleagues at Sallee' Carpets.
When John finally quit the carpet industry he immediately changed gear and directed his efforts into gardening and flora-culture. He spent many years working with his friends the Spence family who owned Matua Winery. John could be relied on to be there at annual vine pruning time as well as at other important times.
In the autumn he was also well known to be one of the prolific pruners of the rose gardens in Parnell.
When he "retired" from these activities he became the "go to" man for his neighbours as the garden maintenance specialist. He didn't know when to stop!
A passion of John's was the Laura Fergusson Trust which he chaired after many years as a dedicated volunteer and supporter. Rotary Newmarket had strong associations with LFT during John's time there.
John joined Rotary in 1985 and was a tremendously active member across so many of our projects and activities. His passion of course was in the environmental space. Along with other "senior" mates in the club, he was always involved in our activities, particularly on Motutapu Island and Trees For Survival.
John was always an overtly positive man. So much so, that for several years he wrote a piece for our weekly bulletin called "The Good News Diary". He was tireless in researching just the good news, not only from within NZ, but from anywhere around the world. This was his answer to the overpowering flooding of the media with bad news stories.
John's service to Rotary was recognised with a Paul Harris Fellowship Award in 1997, and Honorary Membership on his resignation from the club.
A funeral service for John will be Wednesday 5th June, 10.30am at Dils Funeral Home, Schnapper Rock Road, North Shore.
Martin McGahan
