ESO, John Peter

March 18, 1931 — July 10, 2021

John Eso passed away peacefully, with his family at his side, on July 10, 2021. John was born March 18, 1931, to Joseph & Lucia Eso, in Vernon, BC where they lived for 14 years. In 1945, the family moved to Kelowna, BC where they worked and lived on the family farm on Swamp Road. John briefly worked as an optometrist’s technician following graduating from KSS in 1949. Following this, being the helpful man that he was, John chose to return to the family farm to help his father with the workload. He then went on to marry Polly Ivanschitz in 1957, they purchased the family farm where they resided for the next 23 years. In 1972, John purchased the property next door at 894 DeHart Road. John gradually reduced his ownership in the farm over the following years, selling the remainder in 1988. In the mid 90s, John and Polly developed the piece of land below the house, resulting in Eso Court being named after him.

John was a founding member of the Okanagan Mission volunteer fire department, for which he helped fundraise money to buy their first fire truck. He continued his volunteer work with the Okanagan Mission Irrigation District.

John enjoyed hockey, fishing, cross country skiing, bowling, water skiing and boating in his spare time. John was a long time member of the Kelowna Yacht Club and could often be found enjoying the lake during the summer. John played junior hockey for the Kelowna Kodiaks in the 1950s with his twin brother Tom and older brother Joe. John’s love of hockey started in his early childhood, he often had to carry his equipment with his brothers from Swamp road to the Kelowna Memorial Arena downtown in order to play the game. Hockey always had to be scheduled in between long days of work in the orchard, and it was ultimately this duty to work which prevented John from continuing on to pursue the game at a higher level. Despite this roadblock, his love for the game never diminished, and he continued to passionately watch hockey over the years, including many games played by his grandchildren. John was a Kelowna Rockets season ticket holder from the inception of the team and spent +13 years as a die-hard supporter.

John is survived by his wife of 64 years, Polly Anne; his sister, Elizabeth (Dennis) Charboneau; John & Polly’s their three children Michael (Sheri), Sylvia (Stephen) Brow, and Tanis (Robert) Rantucci; six grandchildren Lyndsy, Jesse, Brandon, Morgan, Jonathon and Justin; and one great-grandchild Avery-Rose. Sadly, he was predeceased by his oldest brother Joseph; twin brother Tom; and his nephew Wayne Eso.

Thank you to the staff at Brandt’s Creek, Cherry Court, and Mountainview Village, Cottage One for the wonderful care you provided to dad.

A graveside service will be held on FRIDAY, JULY 16, 2021, AT 9:30AM AT KELOWNA MEMORIAL PARK CEMETERY, 1991 Bernard Ave, Kelowna, B.C, with Father Wayne Pfilger presiding. 

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Society of Canada.

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