When I retired in 2018, I planned to keep pursuing the things I love: acrylic art painting, cycling 25km a day in all weather, writing, learning, white water and sea kayaking, enjoying happy hour with friends, skiing, fly fishing on meandering foothill streams, gardening, doing long runs in the river valley, picking saskatoons in mid July, baking cinnamon buns and growing old with my sweet wife Bonnie. But a diagnosis of Stage 4B thymic cancer in February 2020 changed those plans. Nevertheless, life has been beautiful and the overriding feeling I’m left with is one of extreme gratitude.
My ultimate gift was my wife, Bonnie, who flooded my life with love and support for nearly 36 years and is most responsible for the man I became. Treasured beyond words are my children, Greg, his partner Nilo, and Steven. And while I am so proud of them in the careers they are pursuing, what gives me the greatest joy is seeing the decent, kind and sweet souls they all are.
A great privilege of my life was to serve the City of Edmonton for 36 years – as manager of the, then, Office of the Auditor General (13 yrs); as the Policy Advisor for Mayor Bill Smith (9 yrs); and as the Lead Planner for the City’s Environmental Strategic Plan and Climate Change Plan (15 yrs). While I was fortunate to have a role in these important initiatives, the real blessing was in meeting and befriending thousands of inspiring Edmontonians, City employees, politicians, community activists and new colleagues from around the world.
Given my theistic world view I anticipate an afterlife full of adventure, culminating in eventually reuniting with my dear wife Bonnie. Much love to my mom Lou Andrais, and sisters Gaye Oxford, Brenda Andrais, Cheryle (Norm) Lyster; in-laws Lyle (Debbie) Garrecht, Alice (Skyler) Hinman and nieces and nephews. And so much love to our dear friends and neighbours.
A note from Bonnie, Greg, Steven and Nilo:
One of the few joys we’ve had over the last couple weeks has been hearing from everyone Jim impacted throughout his life. Every letter and phone call we received told the same story. That Jim was a kind, thoughtful, intelligent, fun and humble man who was driven by his love for life and the people in it.
While this was never a surprise to us, it was beautiful to see all the different forms his kindness and love took throughout his life. He was a gentle and supportive presence in so many people’s lives, most importantly ours. His encouragement and positive attitude made us all see the bright side of life and made us better.
We could never list all the ways he made us feel supported and loved, and the ways we are better off for having known him. Over his life whenever we expressed this to him, he always found a way to make the conversation about how special we were and how much he loved us. Of all his incredible accomplishments, his ability to uplift and help others was his greatest.
Jim will be greatly missed by so many people, and especially by us.
Rather than flowers, please donate to the Red Cross to support Ukraine. A celebration of Jim’s life will be held at a later date.
David Ream says
Very sorry to hear that Jim has passed away. We had great times together at university having been roommates for three years. The stories I could tell would simply confirm that he was someone who enjoyed life and a good laugh (con).
My sympathies to his family