John Mann, the Spirit of the West frontman who refused to surrender the stage without a fight after revealing in 2014 that he’d been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, lost that fight on Wednesday.Mann, 57, passed away peacefully in Vancouver “surrounded by family and loving friends until the end,” according to a statement issued by his family, the sad but “inevitable result” of his situation. “All were reminded of John’s rich legacy,” read the statement. “He was a potent force in music, acting — onstage, in movies and on television — and was world renowned as a songwriter. As well, he was a foresightful activist and charitable figure for several worthwhile organizations. His work will resound long after his untimely passing.“John was a man of uncommon courage, was a loyal and beloved friend, a gentleman of great social conscience and a soul brimming with creativity and enthusiasm. Most importantly he was a loving father to Harlan and Hattie and a wonderful husband to Jill Daum.”Mann, who’d already rebounded from a bout with colorectal cancer in 2010, insisted on performing as a solo act and with the influential Spirit of the West — which he co-founded in 1983 and steered to nationwide prominence during the early 1990s with such indelible folk-pop stompers as “Save This House,” “Political” and “Home for a Rest” — as long as he could after receiving his Alzheimer’s diagnosis five years ago. For awhile, he used an iPad loaded with lyrics to jog his memory during shows and, even as the disease worsened, still showed up onstage to dance alongside his friends and fellow performers at the “Spirit of John” fundraisers convened to raise money the Alzheimer Society Music Project, which gives dementia patients MP3 players full of their favourite music to help alleviate their symptoms. By last January, howe ...
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