John C. Egsgard served as president of NCTM (1976-78), the Canadian Association of Mathematics Teachers, and the Ontario Association of Mathematics Teachers. Egsgard has participated in all eight of the International Congresses on Mathematics Education (ICME).
One person nominating Egsgard wrote, "In Ontario, the usual age for a teacher to retire is 65. John was permitted to teach until he was 70. Even at that age, he wanted to continue teaching because he enjoys it and knows he can help students to love mathematics and hence to learn mathematics."
Another nominator said, "It is illustrative of John's commitment to service that now that he has retired from teaching and has more free time, he has chosen to give more to the profession and has just recently taken on the job of editor of the Ontario Mathematics Gazette. " In sum, another wrote, "John has devoted a very large part of his life to service in mathematics education."
John C. Egsgard died on July 10, 2016.