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John Allan Barnfield
September 1, 1946 – January 5, 2026
John died peacefully at St. Joseph’s Hospice, Sarnia.
He is predeceased by his wife, Maggy, and his parents, Geoffrey and Anita.
John leaves behind his children Allan (Yvette) and Elizabeth; grandchildren Laine, Jae and Chris and his sister Gill (David) from the UK.
Also missing John are his sisters-in-law, Brigid (Jim), Mary (Roger); Imelda (John) and countless cousins, nieces and nephews from the US and UK who loved and admired him.
John was born in Birmingham, England in 1946. He studied at King Edward School and then the University of Nottingham where he earned his B.Sc in chemical engineering. He spoke with nostalgia about his childhood and his time at school and loved telling stories about the adventures of his youth.
John was a gifted athlete. He captained his university rugby and squash teams and played cricket at an elite level – representing England for the English School Boys team and his county of Warwickshire. At age 18, John turned down a contract offer to play cricket professionally and elected to pursue his engineering degree instead.
In late 1980, John and Maggy immigrated to Canada and settled in Sarnia. John enjoyed many years as an engineer in Chemical Valley and became the plant manager of Polysar. Following his time at Polysar, John became the General Manager of the Sarnia-Lambton Industrial Educational Cooperative and took great pride in his role, leading a team dedicated to health and safety training throughout Chemical Valley.
Family was important to John. Over his 50 years of marriage to Maggy, they shared a special love, partnership and commitment to community. He adored his 3 grandchildren and rarely missed an opportunity to cheer them on. He was an enthusiastic fan at hockey games (and practices), cross-country and track meets, swim meets, dance recitals, and choir performances.
John was a man of great faith and a wonderful relationship builder. He was a long-time parishioner at Sacred Heart church and was actively involved in many aspects of church life, including Cursillo. It was through the church in 1985 that John, Maggy and their friend, Ray Wyrzykowski, first went on a poverty awareness trip to Haiti. They were deeply impacted by this experience and in 1986 Rayjon was born. For 40 years, under John’s leadership and with the dedication of hundreds of other volunteers, Rayjon has impacted thousands of people from Haiti and the Dominican Republic through its education and health care programs and has introduced countless Sarnians (and beyond) to issues of poverty, sustainable development and social justice.
In recent years, John’s compassion and desire to help others became more local. His involvement with issues pertaining to homelessness and affordable housing in the Sarnia-Lambton area became a passion. His unwavering commitment to making positive changes in his community will surely be one of his greatest legacies.
The Barnfield family wishes to extend our sincere gratitude to everyone who has supported John and his family through this journey. Thank you, Dr. Allison Crombeen and Dr. Orla MacSweeny for your expertise and compassion and Dr. Glen Maddison for your guidance, support and long-time friendship. Thank you to the incredible staff and volunteers at St. Joseph’s Hospice and Bluewater Health. We will be forever grateful for the many friends who visited with John during his illness – your love, compassion and storytelling have brought us great comfort.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Rayjon Share Care or Connect Sarnia.
Cremation has already taken place. Visitation will take place at Smith Funeral Home – McKenzie Blundy Chapel (431 Christina Street N.), on Sunday, January 18, 2026 from 2-4pm and 7-9pm.
Funeral will take place at Sacred Heart Church (1465 Lecaron Avenue) on Monday, January 19, 2026 at 1:00pm with a reception to follow at The Sarnia Golf and Curling Club (500 Errol Road W).
