John Murray Clearwater,  M.A., PhD

Born on 8 February 1966 to Thomas Murray and Olga Clearwater of Winnipeg, John became Canada’s foremost nuclear weapons specialist. He was a Diamond Jubilee Medal recipient for his work against nuclear weapons and for veterans. John leaves behind his beloved wife of over twenty years, Ms. Pamela Jayne Wheat of Sugarland, Texas.

After a Master’s degree at Dalhousie University, and working for the Royal Canadian Air Force, John earned his PhD in the War Studies Department of King's College London under the guidance of Sir Lawrence Freedman. John defended “The Birth of Strategic Arms Control” which later became a university textbook.  In January 2006, John moved to Cambodia to take up a temporary posting as the new visiting professor of political science at the Royal University of Phnom Penh. He taught civil society and international relations, and led a master's seminar for professors on human rights.

John moved to Ottawa in 1994 and worked for the Department of National Defence.  He published four books on nuclear weapons, two of which were the basis for television documentaries.  John then became the editor-in-chief of the prestigious international monthly journal Arms Control Reporter, published in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  He was the author of a federal study for the Minister of National Defence on Canadian troops exposed to radiation during nuclear weapons testing. The report to Cabinet resulted in ex gratia payments to thousands of irradiated soldiers.

John loved to travel and visited North Korea twice.  He sailed more than once on the QE2 along with his wife Pam.  Following their trip around the world, John became the manager and chief operating officer of Visa Services Canada, Inc. a national company which specializes in getting visas for passports for over a decade.  He also sat on the international board of directors of PVS Global sarl (Liechtenstein).

John was the first Canadian to be certified as an international class judge at the world kettlebell championships by the International Union of Kettlebell Lifting, having judged in Canada, Korea, Latvia, Germany and Serbia.  He also liked to paint and build things and was a long-time member of the International Plastic Modellers Society (IPMS) Canada.  But, most of all, he was an avid cat fancier.

John made a daily effort to keep in touch with friends all over the world.  Donations in his memory can be made to the Life and Hope Association (LHA) children’s charity in Siem Reap Cambodia where both John and Pam were long-time board members; www.lifeandhopeangkor.org, or give2asia.org/lha or to any charitable organization that will benefit cats.