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Posted Feb 10, 2025 | 12:12 PM
Jack Riddell Sisson – With sadness, but also with appreciation for a life well-lived, we have said our final goodbyes to our dearly-loved dad. After a good life, and a long one, he died on Wednesday February 5 2025, at Hospice Quinte in Belleville ON, in his 97th year.
Dad was predeceased by our loving mom Elinor (née Lee/Oaks), whom he spent 65 wonderful years with, and by his sister Shirley Humphreys. He was a wonderful father to the four of us, Susan Merritt (Stacey), Anne Blaser (Martin), Scott Sisson (Liz Garieri) & Carol Wiggins (the late Jim); and a beloved Poppy/Papa to his twelve grandchildren Bradley & Gregory Merritt, Mark (Andie McHardy) & Amy (Todd Copeland) Blaser, Curtis (Leslie Arnold), Matthew (Chelsey Truscott), Elizabeth (Alex Wing), Alexandra (Ben Naugler), James (Marah Monk) & Victoria Sisson, and Christopher (Katherine Stefankiewicz) & Katie (Andrew Williamson) Wiggins, and to his seventeen great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his nephew Randy Robson.
Dad was born in Brandon Manitoba on March 29, 1928, to Hattie Mae Riddell (Oxbow, SK) and Bertrand Harold Sisson (Beachville, ON). He spent a happy childhood on the Prairies, with all four grandparents and lots of his aunts, uncles & cousins nearby. After his father accepted a new sales job, Dad’s family moved east to Peterborough ON, where he attended PCVI. After finishing high school, he played some exhibition games for the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL, where a scout convinced him to come to Queen’s University instead. To his good fortune, he met his future wife and our wonderful mom Elinor at Queen’s, and subsequently graduated with a B.A. and a Phys. Ed. degree.
Proud to be a member of the Fort Henry Guard, Dad spent several summers working at the Fort and had the honour of performing for royalty.
After graduation, Dad married Mom, attended Toronto Teachers’ College, and then accepted a job at Quinte Secondary School, which was just opening. He became a highly respected teacher and V.P. at Quinte, and then a Principal at Trenton High School. He was also a much-loved coach and mentor to young athletes, many of whom continued to keep in touch with him over the years.
A star athlete in his own right throughout his school days, Dad was drafted by the Hamilton Tiger Cats after finishing at Queen’s, and was inducted into the Belleville Sports Hall of Fame in 1989. He refereed intercollegiate football games for several years and then high school football games until he was 70. After retiring, he bicycled across Canada with Mom and continued to play golf until the age of 95.
Despite doing lots of coaching and working every summer at an additional job, Dad somehow still managed to be very present in our lives. We are privileged to have had such a loving and devoted father, grandfather and great-grandfather. We will all miss him dearly.
We want to thank all the family members, friends and students who took the time to write a note to Dad about the positive influence he had on their lives. He thoroughly enjoyed reading them. We also want to thank the loving staff at Quinte Gardens and the caregivers at BGH and Hospice Quinte.
Friends will be received at the Burke Funeral Home, 150 Church St S, Belleville ON on Thursday, February 27 from 2 to 4 p.m. and from 6 to 8 p.m. A Celebration of Life, followed by a reception, will take place on Friday, February 28 at 11 a.m. at Eastminster United Church, 432 Bridge St E, Belleville ON. The service will be Live Streamed with access provided on Jack’s obituary site at www.BurkeFuneral.ca
Instead of flowers, please consider making a donation in memory of Dad to whatever matters most to you. If you do not have a personal cause, either of these would be appreciated by the family: Hospice Quinte or the Dr. Douglas A. MacIntosh Cancer Clinic at BGH.