John started as an apprentice Gardener in Belfast Parks Dept in August 1978 and completed his apprenticeship in March 1982. John's first post was a Bowling Green keeper for one year. John was promoted to Leading Hand gardener in 1983 and held potions in Victoria Park and Ormeau Park until 1988 when John took up the post of Cemetery Superintendent at Roselawn Cemetery. With the introduction of CCT in 1995 John was appointed to the post of Area Contracts Manager for East Belfast. In 2006 he became Bereavement Services Manager and in 2011 became Parks Quality Manager.
John was awarded a lifetime membership by the GMA for his dedicated service and in particular for the volunteer role he played as an integral member of the Scotsturf and SALTEX Site teams spanning an incredible 38 years. John was an active member of the Northern Ireland Branch of the then IOG holding various positions as a volunteer member.
GMA CEO, Geoff Webb, says:
“We are all saddened by the loss of John who was an integral member of our much respected and valued site team. A team full of dedicated and knowledgeable volunteers who have witnessed many changes to SALTEX through its evolution. John also volunteered to help with Scotsturf which ran for 19 years from 1984 to 2003. John had a magical calming influence at every event he was involved with, nothing was too much trouble, and his quiet and intelligent sense of humour made him an invaluable asset to the team A fantastic example of someone giving up time to help others with a real understanding of community who made a real difference without ever seeking the limelight. I am grateful to have had the privilege to learn from him as I have with others over the years when working on SALTEX and Scotsturf and enjoyed his wit and company, my heartfelt condolences to his family and friends.”
SALTEX Operations Director, Derek Walder
"In 1994 John Macfarlane joined the site team at Windsor on what was then the IOG exhibition and to be honest the team was never the same again as he brought an Irish charm to the team. His dedication to working at SALTEX was shown when four years ago when he was, ill he insisted on being part of the site team. There are many tales that can be told about John but two will be familiar with his friends in the GMA and his many friends in Northern Ireland. Wherever John was at the end of the day a well-earned drink was on the cards, and it was usually a pint of the Black Gold (Guinness) but he often nodded off and we all watched the pint slowly slide over to a dangerous angle and then John would awake as if nothing was wrong. He also could not start his day without having a bowl of Crunchy Nuts cereal.
Now these memories of John may seem rather in bad taste but that was John; dedicated, fun and full of the Irish blarney he has been missed over the past two years of exhibitions but will always be spoken about by us at SALTEX.
My thoughts are with his family and friends."