John Collings (1945-2020)

Dear colleagues and friends in the industry,

It is with great sadness that I notify you that John Collings, my Father and co-founder of Collings Johnston Inc, has passed away. On October 9, 2020 at the North Shore Hospice, he ended a long 8 year battle with cardiac amyloidosis, a rare condition that involves the thickening of the heart. He was 75.

The family is hosting a small burial on October 17. We are also planning a wider memorial service in the coming weeks. This will be hosted online (due to COVID restrictions), and will allow for some contribution from you all. We’ll post details when we know them on our company website at www.collingsjohnston.com.

John was deeply devoted to the practice of engineering, dedicating much of his career to developing Canadian engineering standards, contracts, and practices. He was trained and then began his career in South Africa, and worked throughout the world, most notably throughout Africa, Asia and the Americas. He was proud to be a Fellow of the Institute of Civil Engineering and recipient of the Association of Consulting Engineers of BC’s Meritorious Achievement Award.

In 2000, following a 30 year career with Delcan Corporation (now Parsons) where he was a corporate director along with a divisional and regional VP, he and Robin Johnston founded Collings Johnston Inc. John’s vision was to get out of the day-to-day of managing a large consulting firm, and focus on delivering complicated and interesting assignments directly for clients.

In 2015 John retired from Collings Johnston Inc, but his work ethic, entrepreneurial attitude and profoundly moral approach to business remain deeply intrenched in our firm’s culture.

John was an avid outdoorsman, with deep passion for climbing mountains, ski mountaineering, hiking, running, horseback riding and was a die-hard commuter biker. He was a dedicated member of the Anglican church. He was a lifelong scholar with a remarkable mind for history, world events and context for current affairs.

John is survived by his wife of 49 years Lucy, four kids and their partners, and ten grandchildren. His intellect, wit and leadership will be deeply missed by all.

Please forward this on to those who may like to know this news; I’m sure I’ve missed half of the people I should be notifying.

Warmest regards from CJI and our whole family,

David Collings, MSc, BCom, PMP
Principal
Collings Johnston Inc.

Dear friends,

The family of John Collings (1945-2020) invites you to join us for his Memorial Service on Sunday, November 8th 2020, at 10:00 AM PST. Due to COVID restrictions, the event will be hosted online. Please pass this invitation along to others who may be interested.

If you are joining by computer (recommended), CLICK HERE to join the event directly. To join by phone (or other device), or for more details on the event, please see below.

Please share any stories, reflections, or pictures you may have with any of the family members in lieu of flowers or donations. You can send these directly to me (dcollings@collingsjohnston.com) or post them here https://www.mckenziefuneralservice.com/memorials/john-collings/4358252/obituary.php (please ignore the suggestions to “buy a tree”).

John Coppin Collings (1945-2020) passed away on October 9, ending an 8 year battle with cardiac amyloidosis. John was a Fellow of the Institute of Civil Engineering and dedicated much of his career to developing Canadian engineering standards and practices. Trained in South Africa, he worked throughout the world. In 2000, following a 30 year career with Delcan Corporation (now Parsons) he co-founded Collings Johnston Inc. John was an avid outdoorsman, bike commuter and lifelong scholar. He is survived by his wife Lucy, and children Sean (Brooke), Sarah (Tim), Ian (Laura) and David (Rachel), along with ten grandchildren. John touched many lives and will be greatly missed.

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Memorial Service Details:

To dial by phone without video: Dial 312 626 6799
Meeting ID: 997 3462 2440
Passcode: Gathering

If you are joining via a mobile device (smartphone, tablet, etc), please make sure you have the ‘Zoom’ app downloaded to your device prior to joining. Once Zoom is downloaded, you can tap either the appropriate hyperlink above to join the meeting directly.

For technical assistance, call or text the GatheringUs Support Hotline at 240-608-6037

A few technical tips:

BEFORE THE EVENT

* Go to zoom.us/download to download the latest version of Zoom. If you are joining via a mobile device (smartphone, tablet, etc), please download the Zoom app before the event. Once Zoom is downloaded, you can tap the hyperlink on the memorial page.
* To familiarize yourself with Zoom and test your audio/video connection before the event, join a test meeting here.
* If you or anyone you know has technical difficulties before or during the event, call or text the GatheringUs Tech Support Hotline at 240-608-6037.

DURING THE EVENT

* All guests will be muted upon entry. Speakers will be unmuted by the hosts when it’s their turn to speak.
* There are 2 view options, ‘Speaker’ and ‘Gallery.’ The Speaker is the main view and your screen will default to this view each time there is a new presenter. You can switch to the Gallery view by pressing on “gallery” on the top right-hand corner of your screen.
* The service will be recorded, so a few days after the event, you will be able to view it on the memorial page.
* Following the service, we are hoping to arrange for a few “reception rooms” for those interested in further discussion on John’s life.