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John (Jack) Langley Petty was born in Langley on June 1,1913 to parents William Hillier and Ellen Gertrude Petty, shortly after they arrived. Jack first began working at the Langley Greenhouse. William and Ellen started Rosecroft Nurseries at about 60th Avenue on Fraser Highway at about 198th Street, and Jack and his brother Bob ran the business after they retired. Jack was a member of the Langley Players Drama Club. He married (Georgina) Bernice Patchett of Merritt and they had a daughter. During World War II, he tested ammunition in Prince George and in Brandon, Manitoba, and went overseas just before the end of the war. In 1958, he was the president of the BC Nursery Trades Association. Prior to his fulltime retirement, Petty was a bus driver for the Langley School District. The couple later settled in Chilliwack. He was a member of the Ionic Lodge #19, Chilliwack, the Eureka Masonic Lodge #103, Langley, and the Chilliwack Naturalists. Jack passed away on October 15, 1997.

Rosecroft Nurseries was run by William and Ellen Petty. It opened sometime after they arrived in Langley in 1913, and was located at Fraser Highway and 60th Avenue (near what is now the Langley By-Pass, including the property that is now the Esso Gas Station). The couple had three sons, and sons Jack and Bob took care of the nursery in later years.