Jack passed away peacefully, surrounded by love, on May 5th at 3:22 pm in the arms of his family, in his home and on his terms. He was born in New Westminster to parents Helen and Cliff Julseth on November 20, 1954. He was the precious brother to sisters Dona Young (Mladen) and Kathleen Julseth-White (Hance). Jack was a remarkable man, husband, father, and his favourite title of all, Papa. He is survived by Teresa, his wife of 46 years; daughters, Becky (Andrew) and Trisha (Ian) and his 4 adored grandchildren, Tristan, Jordyn (Jojo), Hudson and Hanna. He will also be remembered by his cousins, nieces and nephews, all of whom he loved dearly.
In his young adulthood, Jack started working on the tugs for Rivtow Straits which cemented his love of boats and the ocean throughout his life. Soon after Jack discovered the car business in Vancouver. In 1983 he moved to Victoria, with his young family, to join Three Point Motors, the Mercedes dealership. His love of people and passion for cars was the perfect fit. After a few years he became the dealer principal and enjoyed many achievements. He often said his greatest achievement in the car business was the relationships he created with his staff and customers. In the late nineties Jack was struck by the real estate development bug and ventured to Phoenix where he spent a decade creating his visions. He brought that real estate bug back to Vancouver Island and continued realizing his visions in the Victoria area. Eventually he discovered Port Renfrew which became his passion and focus for the rest of his life. His legacy will live on in the spaces he built, the businesses he created and in the lives of the young people he loved and helped get established.
Jack’s curiosity and creativity seeded an incredible variety of endeavors over his years, and his accomplishments are too numerous to list. A few of the highlights include his Mercedes-Benz, Porsche-Audi and Subaru dealerships, as well as launching the first SMART car dealership in Canada. He earned Mercedes-Benz ‘Dealer of the Year’ for Canada for several years running. His passion for innovative affordable housing led him to create several supportive housing developments for VIHA, of which he was very proud. He was also responsible for the vision and execution of the remediation of the Bamberton cement factory lands, which at the time was the largest ever privately-funded environmental remediation project in British Columbia.
Jack’s motto, which so many who worked with him continue to draw inspiration from, was “Just be nice to each other and do the right thing”. He touched many lives with his kindness, generosity and love. Always an optimist, he believed that anything was possible. His dreams and visions were huge and he inspired many. To know Jack was to love Jack. His light will shine on through the eyes of his precious daughters, grandchildren and all those whose lives he touched.
A special thanks to Dr. Kevin Wade and Dr. Howard Joe who went over and above with compassion and kindness. We are forever grateful.
Celebration of life details to follow. In lieu of flowers donations can be made to the BC Cancer Agency.
Condolences may be offered to the family below.
McCall Gardens
www.mccallgardens.com
42 Responses
Jack was a true gentleman, generous with his time and supporting teams working on his various construction projects. He had great vision and determination. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”
Thank you Jack for all you did.
Barry
I first met Jack in 1980 at “Automart” in Vancouver and just wanted to work for him as he had such a
confident, you can do it attitude that you were capable of more than you thought you could do.
That same helpful confidence came through at one time at a car dealership he had at Canada way and Edmonds in New west, when a young employee was up 16 ft on a ladder when the ladder fell down leaving the employee stranded hanging on, Jack came out and shouted LET GO WE’LL CATCH YOU !!,and sure enough, let go he did and Jack with some help caught the employee and safely got him on the ground to great applause.
I moved on and lost touch until some time in 1996 when I again ended up working for Jack at Three point motors, again enjoyed his enthusiasm and forward vision. Wonderful man and employer — you will be missed .Condolences to Theresa, Trish and Becky. Rest in peace Jack.