OPP veteran lived by the golden rule
John Robert Bean of Kitchener Born: Jan. 27, 1945, in New Dundee Died: June 22, 2017, of cancer
John Bean always made it perfectly clear: he was an OPP officer for exactly 33 years, one month and nine days.
“He was a stickler for details,” said his wife, retired educator Karen Kreutzweiser, adding with a laugh “he drove me crazy.”
This attention to detail served him well in his roll as a police officer, particularly when he served as a body guard for politicians such as then Premier Bob Rae, both in Canada and during conference trips overseas.
He also served as a body guard to Queen Elizabeth during a Canadian visit.
Such roles were perfect for the eagle eyed John, nothing escaped his attention.
In a eulogy, family friend David Einwechter recalled that John was a passionate man who took great pride in everything he did.
“His cars were spotless, his uniform pressed and shoes polished,” he recalled. “A very meticulous man in all aspects of his life.”
John was born one of two sons, growing up in New Dundee where his parents worked at the creamery. Karen is not sure why he decided to become a policeman but she believes he’d had a conversation with an officer in the village where there wasn’t a municipal force, only the OPP.
“He loved it,” said Karen. “He loved the challenge of it, all the people he met.” And it was certainly a bonus that John spent the early part of his career in places like Barrie and Bala, where part of the time his beat would include travelling in the OPP boat on the lakes or on a snow machine on the trails. John always loved powerful machines which is why he preferred cars with lots of vroom.
As David recalled, John’s cars were always new, mostly high performance muscle cars such as Mustangs, Torinos and there were a couple of fast convertibles. David, 17 years John’s junior, admired his friend and was always excited when John would pull up to give the kid a ride.
“Some of my fondest childhood memories include John Bean,” he said. “As I got older I thought it was cool that I had a friend that had cool cars.”
David had come into John’s life as result of a tragedy. David’s father died and as his mother struggled with the loss, John’s family who were neighbours, stepped in to help. David was just two years old and John immediately treated him like a little brother.
Karen understands this relationship.
“He was so good with kids,” she said, adding that when David married and had children, John was involved with them too. All this kid training came in handy when she married John in 2004 and came into the marriage fully equipped with two grandchildren.
John had been married before; a marriage that ended badly but the couple never had children so being a grandpa to Karen’s grandchildren meant he just skipped the more challenging parenting role and went straight to the good stuff.
David said John always spoke so proudly about the grandkids, Matthew and Lilly.
John was all about family, said Karen, a bond that he also found as a police officer.
John’s career as senior detective constable with the OPP eventually had him stationed at Pearson International Airport where he worked with the RCMP Peel Region and served as field coordinator and intelligence office. Karen said the work was mostly surveillance, undercover work but he was also assigned to escort criminals being deported from Canada.
In his long career, among his proudest moments were when he served as drum major of the Commissioner’s Own Pipes and Drums of the O.P.P.
John was truly dedicated and thrilled with his roll with the band, said David.
John had played trumpet in school and in church bands but that was the extent of his musical experience, though his role as major came with a lot responsibilities. To start with, he served as tour co-coordinator, in charge of everything from travel arrangements to ensuring the band had everything it required to do a good job.
Unfortunately, the ceremonial band along with the OPP’s Golden Helmets motorcycle precision team was disbanded in 1991 due to government cutbacks. The pipes and drums corps had launched in 1968 and attracted musicians from all over the province. About a dozen former members played at John’s funeral, a fitting and emotional tribute to the man.
“He was so well respected,” Karen said.
As a civilian, a friend and a husband, John was funny, a real prankster. Once he embarrassed Karen by asking aloud in a store if she was going to pay for all the items she’d stuffed into her pockets.
Of course she hadn’t stuffed so much as a cough drop in there, but that was John, always going for the humorous and the unexpected.
As John suffered with cancer for more than a year and his mobility was severely restricted, he turned to books for entertainment. A voracious reader, John always had several books at his elbow, ensuring he would never run out of reading material.
And when he finally had to go into palliative care, a doctor in the hospital asked, what should he know about John?
John’s thoughtful reply was “I tried to leave this world as I found it. Live by the golden rule and treat others as I would like to be treated. I want you to know that I was not a religious person but I was a very spiritual person and tried to help my fellow man.”