Janey and John Crook arrived in Salmon Arm from Chelsea, Quebec, in 2019. They met each other while in Whitehorse and married in 1987, in the UK. The Crooks then built a home in Chelsea, just north of Ottawa where they were joined by two sons, Gerald and Michael.
John’s family emigrated to Rothesay, New Brunswick, from Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1955. They eventually ended up in Ottawa where John attended school. He went on to study Geography at Carlton University in 1970, then worked as a land use planner in Sioux Lookout, Ontario, and in Saskatchewan’s Qu’Appelle Valley before earning a Masters degree in Resource and Environmental Management from Simon Fraser University in 1983. The federal public service then took him on at Northern Affairs which led to 32 years with various departments involved in resource and environment issues associated with indigenous peoples across Canada. After retiring in 2013, he studied script writing at Algonquin College in Ottawa. His long-standing interest in vintage aircraft eventually led him to write a feature film script involving a de Havilland 84 Dragon which touched many people over its eighty-seven-year flying career. Since arriving in Salmon Arm, John has written articles on Dragons flying in Canada for the Canadian Aviator magazine.
Both Janey and John are making a garden at their new home. Janey does the plant side and most of the digging, while John does the structural landscaping. When they arrived, they both sang in the Shuswap Singers choir and volunteered with Roots & Blues before COVID measures limited such activities. They also helped out with Shuswap Theatre. Skiing at Larch Hills is one of their favourite pass times. Together they explore the outdoors in the area through cross-country skiing, kayaking, hiking, camping, and snowshoeing.
Janey and John were impressed with the friendly and caring community they discovered in Salmon Arm. After learning about the Shuswap Community Foundation, then discovering the broad range of causes it serves, they established the Janey and John Crook Family Endowment in August of 2021. Both hope their fund will help strengthen the bonds amongst the diverse communities in the Shuswap.
The endowment is open to further contributions at any time.