Remembering our roots – John Burns and Pamela Sangret

By John Godsman Times Contributor

John’s family originated in Limavady, a market town in the County of Londonderry, Northern Ireland in the 1300s. The entire family were farmers, dealing mainly with cattle, sheep and barley to the present day.
John was born in 1956, the seventh out of nine sons and nine daughters. He attended school in Limavady, where he graduated from high school in 1972, then continued his education at Limavady Tech, followed by Portrush Catering College (now known as The Northern Ireland Hotel and Catering College). He then attended Queen’s University in Belfast, graduating with an executive chef degree. John has worked in the catering and hospitality industry for most of his life, except for the eight years he spent in the security industry, when he first arrived in Canada.
John immigrated to Canada in 1997, and initially worked with Impact Security, a Manitoba company, which he managed to move west to the Calgary area. In 2013, he moved from Calgary to Strathmore to work part time for Humpty’s Restaurant which had recently opened. It was here that he met his now business partner Pamela Sangret.
Pamela’s family originated in the North Battleford area in Saskatchewan. She was born in Winnipeg, Man. in 1992, the youngest of two daughters. The family moved to Calgary in 1996, where she attended John Diefenbaker High School, graduating in 2010. Her focus has always been on business and economics, and following her high school graduation, she focused her career in the restaurant and hospitality industries. She started work with Humpty’s Family Restaurant in north Calgary, moving to Strathmore in 2013 where she was hired as general manager for the newly opened Humpty’s Restaurant, where she met John.
In 2016, they initiated their own company, leaving Humpty’s to take over the restaurant at Husky’s in Strathmore. For the next 18 months they built this business, but at the end of their lease they decided to move on and purchased a restaurant in town, renaming it PJ’s Diner. As business partners, they share equal responsibilities at the restaurant, but Pamela is also responsible for the bookkeeping and accounting.
Since arriving in Strathmore, they’ve become very involved with community events and supporting local charities, like the Lions Club fundraisers and the food hamper society, as well as providing food for the homeless and less fortunate. The summer months will find them supporting rural rodeos, assisting Lions clubs and ag societies.
The biggest change since their arrival has been the growth in population and infrastructure.