By Anne Stairs

John Parry, (February 9, 1950 – March 27, 2026) physical education teacher extraordinaire at Knowlton Academy for 33 years, and the face of Glen Mountain skiing for almost as many, passed away in Golden, BC, at the age of 76. Parry is predeceased by his wife Sandy, and survived by his children Josh and Tessa, and several grandchildren.

A passion for sports and people

Parry was passionate about sports and people all his life. His philosophy was about getting people mobilized. He loved to win, but it was secondary to creating opportunities for sport everywhere. He organized intramural and afterschool sports at Knowlton Academy as well as the interschool sporting association of his time.

His personality centered on dreaming big, living outside the box, and eventually his faith. In the 1970’s, he went to the Montreal ski show and talked Spalding Caber into selling him ski equipment at cost to launch the local ski program on a secure footing. The company agreed. He then went back to the town and raised thousands of dollars necessary to purchase the equipment.

As friend and colleague Bob Colvil observed, “John could sell refrigerators to the Inuit.”

Life after retirement

After his retirement in 2004, John upped stakes, and moved to Golden. He skied all day in the winter and did mountain biking in summer.

In his final days in hospital, he was in phone contact with Knowlton Academy physical education teacher Nicolas Lemaître. Nicolas contacted ski buddy Trevor Gavura to visit John and replay Glen ski videos.