Remembering John Fraser: A Courageous Battle Against Pancreatic Cancer and a Life Well-Lived

By Professor Sir Henry Fraser

My brother John – a most amazing man – died peacefully at his home in Mississauga, Toronto, on August 23, 2023. He had courageously battled pancreatic cancer for an extraordinary five years and four months after the diagnosis, and he was deeply grateful for all the time he had to live life fully with his wonderfully caring wife and family during those years.

Only 11 per cent of pancreatic cancer patients live on for five years, so his story is almost a miracle.

John was born on September 25, 1946, at our small home ‘Spooners’, near Four Cross Roads in St John. Our parents were Robert Bob Fraser, the parochial Treasurer of St John, and Lorraine (nee Watson), the postmistress of the parish.

Our father’s office was a walled corner of the veranda of the house, where he managed the affairs of the parish on behalf of the Vestry (parish council) of St John. Our mother’s post office was a single-unit chattel house at the front of the yard, where she worked from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., five days a week and half days on Saturdays, dispensing old age pensions. We learnt the golden rule and communication skills with the entire parish by the example of our parents.

John entered The Lodge School in 1955 at the age of nine, making many friends, and throughout school his passion was football. He ended his school days playing for all three school teams and he lived his passion at home and at school. Some of his exploits on the field were legendary at school.

He joined the accounting firm Bovell and Skeete, later Coopers & Lybrand, at 17, and discovered the joy of studying and passing accounting exams. He admitted that a major part of his success was the goal of earning enough money to marry the love of his life, Wendy – Barbadian, and an American Field Scholar. They became engaged in October 1966 and were married on July 1, 1967, in spite of sage advice that they couldn’t afford it.

John’s professional maturity was greatly enhanced by being posted first to the St Lucia branch of the company and then later to manage the new branch in Dominica. One of his clients was Eugenia Charles – later Prime Minister and Dame Eugenia, whom I labelled the Iron Lady of the Caribbean. Tennis replaced his football passion so that he became the island’s singles and doubles champion!

John and Wendy returned to Barbados in March 1971 with their daughter, Heather and infant son, James. Their third child, Todd, was born later in Canada. He finished his ACCA studies, passing the final exam in 1972. Wanting to obtain a Chartered Accounting designation and explore new opportunities, they decided to emigrate to Canada

He began with Coopers and Lybrand, Toronto, and quickly excelled. He managed the computer audit group and became the insurance industry specialist. But other opportunities beckoned, and he moved on to a number of exciting career opportunities on Bay Street, the financial centre of Toronto.

In 1999, he accepted an offer from Hydro One Inc. – a venerable offshoot of Ontario Hydro, the electricity company of Ontario. There he was the Senior Vice President of Internal Audit and the Chief Risk Officer, developing innovative methodologies in the relatively new field of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM). He could be described as the ERM guru of Canada and was well respected around the world, with invitations to lecture all over North America and Europe. He was twice invited to help teach the management staff at the United Nations how to implement ERM and was invited to speak at the Barbados Stock Exchange Conference on two occasions.

An invitation to speak in Denmark led to numerous academic publications and the co-editing of three university textbooks on ERM, auditing and board governance. He was approached by Harvard University to assist them in putting together a case study and video on his work in ERM at Hydro One which they use to teach their students. He was co-programme director and taught executives at the Schulich School of Business, while also an Adjunct Professor at York University teaching a Master’s Degree course in Risk. In his autobiography, produced just four months before his death, he commented on the irony of these major academic roles as he had never attended university himself.

He retired in 2015, and in addition to his many senior positions, he has been showered with awards, including the designation of Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario, an award that is presented to less than five per cent of their membership. He also received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian Institute of Internal Auditors and a Distinguished Executive Award from the Eastern Finance Association in the USA.

In spite of so many achievements, he found time to, among other things, be the treasurer of his local church for 17 years, and to devote endless hours to his many games – including tennis, the strange Canadian sport of curling (which is played on an ice rink), and then pickleball. He encouraged and coached his children at soccer, and he has won so many championships it would take many pages to list them all. He was simply a natural sportsman with the ability to win!

But John’s greatest achievement, over and above his outstanding career, has been his family. He and Wendy raised three children with the highest standards – Heather, James and Todd, wonderful, caring individuals. His six grandchildren have all inherited his love of sports and are all outstanding achievers. John’s real joy came from watching them compete and cheering them on. His greatest legacy was his love and willingness to always listen, help and encourage.