Don Johnstone

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Donald "Don" Johnstone Senior lived at 80 South Hill Street, Thunder Bay, for many years. He was an early adopter and reseller of computers in the mid-1990s to Ron Currie.

Connection to Ron Currie

Here is a coincidence: his sister-in-law Joan's great-grandfather John Gray Snook is the great-great-grandfather of Ron Currie, his neighbour on South Hill Street!

Two neighbours on Hill Street South are connected through a shared Snook ancestor from Salisbury, but only one of them (Ron) carries the bloodline, while the other (Don)'s brother married into it.

This makes Don the brother-in-law of Ron's second cousin once removed.

Ron Currie lineage:

  • John Gray Snook ( ) ->
  • child George Snook (1864 Salisbury - (moved to Port Arthur 1893) - died 1930 Port Arthur pump foreman) ->
  • child Anna Snook (1893 - 1989) ->
  • child Jack Currie (1915 - 2009) natural gas salesman from Port Arthur ->
  • child Ron Currie (1947 - ), a high-school mathematics teacher living at 71 Hill Street South ->
  • child Michael Currie (1982 - )

Don Johnstone lineage:

Early Life

Don was born to Archibald Johnstone, who served for many years as a grain inspector for the federal government in Port Arthur, and his wife Grace Brown Johnstone. [1]

Don had at least five siblings:

  • James Bell "Jim" Johnstone (30 August 1926 - September 28 2007), resided most of his adult life in Kenora, Ontario, worked for 37 years with the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), in most recent years as a passenger train conductor. [2] He appears to have been divorced from his wife before he died since she did not figure in his obituary.
  • Bruce Johnstone (1931 - 2 December 2002) [6], served with the Thunder Bay police department for more than 30 years, including several years as an assistant chief and head of detectives, married to Joan.
  • Richard Watson Johnstone (1939 - 19 September 2009) of Abbotsford [3], a millwright with Great Lakes Paper (Bowater) in Thunder Bay
  • Grace May Giesbrecht (30 May 1934 - 3 April 2017) (aged 82) [4] (married Dan (1931-2015) [5]), of Chilliwack, B.C.
  • Jean Lightfoot, married to John Lightfoot, of British Columbia. Possibly still alive as of 2026

Additional "siblings" were listed in his brother Jim's obituary in 2007, but these may be in-laws:

  • Robert Kerr (died prior to 2007) [2]
  • Dorothy Hooke (Terry) [2] (the wife of Terry Sr. but isn't this the wife of the brother of his Jim's brother Don's wife? This is a double-in-law, why list her as Jim's "sister"? confusing)
  • Viola Tuhkanen wife of Urho Matias "Matt" Tuhkanen (1930 - 2 December 2017), who died at the St. Norbert Personal Care Home [6] [2]
  • Marion Johnstone? [2]

Marriage and Family

He married Martha Hooke, whose nickname was "Marty", and who died sometime before 2014. [5]

According to Nancy Greenwald, Don had three kids:

  • Dr. Shawn Johnstone
  • Jan Johnstone (3 May 1968 - 10 December 2011). Died at Health Science North Facility, Sudbury. [4]
  • Renee Jasmine Johnstone, Kinesiologist, published research at Lakehead in 1995, and who worked at Nipissing University from 2019 until June 2025, at the School of Physical and Health Education, when she retired. Presumably as of 2026 she still lives in North Bay. [7]

In the 1990s his children practiced the bagpipes in his backyard.

He was still alive as of 2014 according to his nephew Terry Hooke's obituary (son of his late wife Martha's brother, also named Terry). [5]

Sources

[1] JOHNSTONE, Jan Gordon Jan was born in Thunder Bay, Ontario on May 3, 1968. Jan died suddenly on Sunday, December 10, 2011 [8].

[2]

James Bell (Jim) Johnstone died in a Winnipeg hospital on Friday, September 28 following a lengthy illness, at the age of 81. He was born and raised in Port Arthur (now Thunder Bay) Ontario, the son of Archibald Johnstone, who served for many years as a grain inspector for the federal government. Jim, who resided most of his adult life in Kenora, Ontario, worked for 37 years with the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), in most recent years as a passenger train conductor. He served briefly in the Canadian Army during the latter months of World War II but was discharged when it was discovered that he was under age. He is survived by a daughter, Jacquie, who resides in Winnipeg, and four brothers and sisters, including a brother Donald, who resides in Thunder Bay. The others are Richard Johnstone and Jean Lightfoot, who reside in Abbotsford, B.C. , and Grace Giesbrecht, of Chilliwack, B.C. A young brother, Bruce Johnstone, who died in 2002, served with the Thunder Bay police department for more than 30 years, including several years as an assistant chief and head of detectives."

"JAMES BELL JOHNSTONE After a short illness, James (Jim) Johnstone passed away September 28, 2007 at the Grace Hospital. Jim was born August 30, 1926 in Port Arthur, Ontario. He moved to Kenora, Ontario in 1956 where he worked for the Canadian Pacific Railway until his retirement in 1990. In 1997, he moved to Winnipeg to be closer to his family. Jim is survived by his daughter Jacquie Johnstone; granddaughter Chantelle Johnstone; daughter-in-law Judy Johnstone; brothers, Jack Kerr (Jan), Dick Johnstone and Don Johnstone (Martha); sisters, Grace Giesbrecht (Dan) and Jean Lightfoot (Jon); brother-in-law Urho Tuhkanen and numerous nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his son Brian Johnstone; parents, Archibald Johnstone and Grace Brown Johnstone; brothers, Robert Kerr and Bruce Johnstone (Joan) and sisters, Dorothy Hooke (Terry), Viola Tuhkanen and Marion Johnstone. The family wishes to thank the doctors, nurses and staff at the Grace Hospital Emergency Room and on the 5th floor for their excellent care and understanding. In accordance with the family's wishes, cremation will be taking place and no memorial service will be held. In lieu of flowers, donations to Autism Society of Manitoba would be greatly appreciated. neil bardal inc 949-2200 nbardal.mb.ca"

- 30 Sep 2007

[3] Knee torque kinetics during highland dancing / Renee Jasmine Johnstone. . Johnstone, Renee Jasmine. (1995). (Lakehead University) [9]

Johnstone, R.J., & Bauer, T. (1993). Lower extremity misalignment and kinetics in highland dancing. Unpublished manuscript, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada

[4] https://www.legacy.com/ca/obituaries/theglobeandmail/name/jan-johnstone-obituary?id=41523361 "JOHNSTONE, Jan Gordon Jan was born in Thunder Bay, Ontario on May 3, 1968. Jan died suddenly on Sunday, December 10, 2011 at the Health Science North Facility, Sudbury. A planned Celebration of Jan's life will be announced at a future date."

Note: she is NOT the same Jan Johnstone that married a Gordon and was chairwoman of the Bluewater District School Board in December 2011, and later ran for office as NDP [10], but probably not since she was running for office as of 2022 [11], because she was still around Kincardine in 2022 running for office.

[5] https://www.blakefuneralchapel.com/obituaries/Terrence-Hooke?obId=12265019

[6] Bruce Johnstone obituary [12]

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