John Howard "Jack" Bechtel

1922 - 1966  (44 years)

• Name	John Howard "Jack" Bechtel
  Born	1922	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [1]
  Gender	Male
  Artist	painter
  		Jack Bechtel painting
  		Kitchener Public Library Mural 2014
  Military	WW2 - air gunner RCAF  [1]
  Name	Jack Bechtel
  Occupation	artist - painter
  Residence	Port Dover, Norfolk Co., Ontario   [1]
  Residence	1958	Blair (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [1]
  Eby ID Number	Waterloo-104790
  Died	13 Sep 1966	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [1]
  	Cause: cancer
  Person ID	I104790	Generations
  Last Modified	28 Jan 2025

  
  

  Father	Norman A. Bechtel,   b. 25 Oct 1894, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. Sep 1969  (Age 74 years)
  Mother	Ada May Hagey,   b. 13 May 1898, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 9 Mar 1971, Freeport (Kitchener), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 72 years)
  Married	4 Jul 1917	Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [2]
  Family ID	F6208	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Marion Morrow,   b. CA 1925, Of, London, Middlesex Co., Ontario ,   d. 9 May 1998  (Age ~ 73 years)
  Married	1957  [1]
  Children	1. Dawn Marie Bechtel   2. Barbara June Bechtel
  Last Modified	29 Jan 2025
  Family ID	F44345	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  Artist Jack Bechtel Dies of Cancer at 43 Artist Jack Bechtel of Blair, 43, died today of cancer at St. Mary's Hospital after an illness of several months. Although his abstract paintings were frequently shown in exhibits through Ontario, he was also known to many art students for the numerous classes in painting he conducted. He taught summer classes at the Doon School of Fine Arts from 1950 to 1964, and during the same period instructed adults in winter classes in Brantford, Delhi, Dundas, Guelph, Port Dover, Tillsonburg, Galt, Stratford, Ingersoll and Fort William - Port Arthur. His best-known work in the Twin Cities is probably the Kitchener library mural, Enlightenment, which he completed in six months of night work in 1962. The 560-square foot mural depicts man's historical striving for knowledge. His paintings have been included among exhibits by the Ontario Society of Artists, of which Mr. Bechtel was a member, and the Royal College of Art. They also appeared in gallery exhibits in Montreal, Toronto, Kingston, London, Ont., Hamilton, and smaller Ontario cities. A son of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Bechtel of Kitchener, he began painting when he was about 14, and spent his week-ends bicycling and skiing through rural areas of Waterloo County to sketch the scenes that were frequent subjects of his earlier, realist works. After overseas service as an air gunner with the RCAF in the Second World War, he attended the Ontario College of Art for four years, followed by six months of study at the Instituto de San Miguel d'Allende in Mexico on scholarship. He lived in Port Dover before returning to this area eight years ago to establish his home and studio in Blair. In addition to his parents, Mr. Bechtel is survived by his wife, the former Marion Morrow of London, Ont. whom he married in 1957; two daughters, Dawn Marie and Barbara Jane, at home; a brother, Willard (Bud) of Waterloo and a sister, Maxine of Kitchener. A memorial tribute will be paid at the Doon School of Fine Arts on Friday at 8 p.m. Donations to the local unit of the Canadian Cancer Society will be accepted as expressions of sympathy. Kitchener-Waterloo Record 13 Sep 1966 ____________________ JACK BECHTEL, 1923 1966 I record also the sad death in September, 1966, of John Bechtel, a victim of cancer at the age of forty two. John Bechtel was born in Kitchener. He served for three years with the Royal Canadian Air Force during the war. On discharge he entered the Ontario College of Art, but his graduation was just the beginning of his growth and development as an artist. After returning from a period of painting in Mexico, he joined the staff of the Doon School and began to show the unselfish dedication to painting and the teaching of young artists that won for him wide respect and many devoted students and friends. Let me quote Alan Jarvis: "The first words which come to my mind when I hear the name 'John Bechtel' is integrity, integrity both as an artist and as a person. He was totally without guile or affectation, a dedicated and disciplined worker, without false modesty and with a sincere regard for his own gifts and how to use them". He worked with York Wilson on the Imperial Oil mural and went on to paint many murals of his own in western Ontario, including, in 1962, the mural in the Kitchener Public Library. Another friend wrote: "A child of the future visiting the library in Kitchener will be inspired and motivated by what Jack Bechtel is in his mural, not was. His contribution does exist, and we are indebted to an integrity which in our relations singles out Jack Bechtel as one of the very few". Ontario Society of Artists President's Annual Report 1966 ________________________ Let me quote Alan Jarvis: "The first words which come to my mind when I hear the name 'John Bechtel' is integrity, integrity both as an artist and as a person. He was totally without guile or affectation, a dedicated and disciplined worker, without false modesty and with a sincere regard for his own gifts and how to use them".

  
  

• Sources

  [S74] News - ON, Waterloo, Kitchener - Kitchener-Waterloo Record (1948-1994), Artist Jack Bechtel Died of Cancer at 43 - 13 Sep 1966. [S4] Vit - ON - Marriage Registration. Ada M Hagey Born: Kitchener Age: 19 Father: Aaron Hagey Mother: Maggie Beaver Born: abt 1898 Spouse: Norman A Bechtel Age: 22 born: Kitchener Father: John M Bechtel Spouse Mother Name Elizabeth Steengh Bechtel married 4 Jul 1917 married: Waterloo

  
  

• Event Map

  Born - 1922 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Residence - - Port Dover, Norfolk Co., Ontario Residence - 1958 - Blair (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Died - Cause: cancer - 13 Sep 1966 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  = Link to Google Earth