January 10, 2022
It is with sad hearts that we share the news of the passing of Johnny Glockner. He was the much loved husband of Rita, father of five, grandfather of nine, and great grandfather of seven!
Johnny was born in 1932 and was raised in the small village of Moragy in Hungary. There he developed his love of wine and singing .... passions that stayed with him throughout his entire life. He apprenticed in this village with his father who was an accomplished stone mason. After WWII he and his family immigrated to Medicine Hat, AB. It wasn't long until he met his sweetheart Rita, they were married, and raised their 5 children.
Johnny worked in Medicine Hat as a plasterer, then owned and operated the L&G Concrete plant with Rita's father, and later became a building contractor.
This was, however, just the necessary "work" side of his life! All of Johnny's spare moments were dedicated to spending time with his family and friends whether that was dinners together, travelling, spending the weekends at Elkwater Lake, or singing in the Barbershop quartets and chorus.
He LOVED music and was the chorus director for the Medicine Hat chapter for decades. He was so passionate about this music that he tried (+ was often successful!) to recruit everyone he met to join in Monday night Barbershop practices! A more passionate advocate for Barbershop singing would be hard to find.
In 1992 Rita and Johnny moved to Nelson, BC where 2 of their children lived. It was the town of their honeymoon, so how could they resist! Immediately upon arrival he joined the Nelson Barbershop chorus and started spreading the good word of this music to his new community. "Keep the whole world singing" is the motto of the Barbershop association and during his lifetime Johnny definitely took on this cause.
He passed his love of family, friends, and music to his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. In his final days at the Nelson Jubilee Manor his children and grandchildren were singing for hours at a time by his bedside. Everyone knew that these were the sounds he would most like to be hearing as he passed from this world where he was loved so very dearly.
The Glockner family wants to give a shout out to those that we have aptly named the "Jubilee Angels". The staff of this facility went far above and beyond to meet the needs of Johnny and our large and omnipresent family....Thank-you!
We will not be a holding a funeral or memorial service.