The NSGA Mourns the loss of John Horton

The Nova Scotia Golf Association mourns the loss of long-time volunteer John Horton. John lost his battle with cancer on Friday, June 9th at the Valley Regional Hospital.

He embodied the true nature of volunteering and worked tirelessly to help grow the game and he did so, quietly and humbly. Mr. Horton’s service as a volunteer for the game of golf and for his community spanned more than five decades.

John began his volunteer career in 1975 when he was elected as a board member for the Ken-Wo Golf Club. From 1975-78 he was Chairman of the Junior Development Program at Ken-Wo and served as the Tournament Director for the Nova Scotia Golf Association’s Junior Championship hosted by Ken-Wo.

From 1980-83, Mr. Horton was Chairman of the NSGA Junior Program and was the non-playing captain for the Nova Scotia Junior Team when Nova Scotia native Kevin Dugas won the 1981 Canadian Junior Boys Championship.

John volunteered at the Atlantic International Junior Championship in 1980 and served on the organizing committee for the Canadian Junior Girls Championship hosted by Ken-Wo in 1985.

As a Rules Official John officiated at hundreds of championship on behalf of the NSGA, the PGA Atlantic, the Nova Scotia High School Federation, the PGA Tour Canada and at various club level championships around the province.

In 2005, he returned to the NSGA Board where he served as the Handicap Director until 2011. In 2011 he was appointed as the NSGA Second Vice President. In 2012, he was named First Vice and consequently served as the NSGA President in 2013-14. He had served as the NSGA Course-Rating Director for the past two years.

In 2016 John was honoured with the the Distinguished Service Award by Golf Canada for his years of service to the game of golf in Nova Scotia.

His volunteerism was not limited to the golfing community. He was also very active with the sport of swimming where he served as a Master Official since the mid-seventies. John was President of the Rotary Club in Wolfville and was honoured as the Rotarian of the Year for his service to the organization and his community.

John is survived by his wife, Winnie; daughter, Kathy (Jonathan) Fuller; son, John, and three grandchildren, Ryan, Darcy, and Jesse.