On September 12th 2021, James 'Jim' Schorak, beloved father, son, brother, and grandfather, passed away unexpectedly at the age of 60. Jim is survived by his mother Virginia Schorak, his son, Anthony (Cindy) Jirsch, and four daughters: Corina (Scott) Rochon, Celina Schorak, Nicole (Brian) Schorak and Danielle (Vincent) Torrance. Jim leaves behind five grandchildren: Colton and Karis, Logan and Carter and Vienna. He is also survived by his two sisters Cindi (Ken) Holden and Michele (Bob) Giordano, as well as extended family and friends. James was predeceased by his brother Grant in 1977 and Father Paul in 2016.
James was born on July 28, 1961, in Edmonton, Alberta to Paul and Virginia Schorak. He was a welcomed younger brother for Grant. Soon after his family was complete with the addition of his two younger sisters, Cindi and Michele. The Schorak family began in Edmonton’s Bonnie Doon area, moving to Calgary and finally landing in St. Albert. While growing up in Calgary, Grant and Jim did most things together, paper delivery route, barracuda swim club, but mostly, participate in various adventures, often of a mischievous nature. In 1975, at the age of 13, Jim decided to take himself on an adventure, hopping trains to California and eventually landing in Hawaii. What he failed to do was tell his parents and so made headlines as a missing person. One would think that Jim would learn from his ‘mis-adventures’, but adventure was his middle name. When he saw a cube van filled with empty bottles he decided to take this van on a road trip, selling empties along the way for cash. He made it all the way to Anaheim, California, where he enjoyed the horse races. Shortly after, Jim lost his brother and realized he needed to be more responsible and focus on loving his parents and sisters left behind. His adventures became tamer in nature and he started focusing on his career.
He secured his first job at Speice Construction; building roads before moving on to CN rail. During one of his many visits home to St. Albert, he met Shauna and her two infant daughters, Corina and Celina. He nicknamed Shauna ‘Sparky’ and together they enjoyed camping, fishing, dirt biking, and raising their girls. In 1988, they welcomed another daughter, Nicole. Jim and Shauna were married in 1989 and settled onto an acreage in Onoway. As they worked on their acreage, they welcomed their last daughter; Danielle in 1990. While living in Onoway, Jim discovered he had a son, Anthony (Tony), From those first days in Onoway, Tony and Jim had built a loving relationship over the years, finding they had so many similarities, including their chosen career paths.
Despite his distaste for school, he proudly earned his Heavy-Duty Mechanic Certificate in 1990, but he always preferred running the equipment over fixing it. His career path took him to Peter Kiewit Sons and O’Hanlon Paving before settling in at Border Paving, managing an asphalt plant in Onoway. Jim was proud of his ability to push the limits and thrived off shocking people. While working for Border Paving, he reveled how quickly he could get to work; proud of how much ‘air’ he could achieve on one specific hill in his company truck, while his boss passed by in the other lane. He aptly earned the name ‘red bullet’ when he pulled into work.
When Jim was offered a job managing an asphalt plant for Peter Kiewit Sons in BC, he moved his family to Aldergrove before settling in Abbotsford, BC, where he remained for the rest of his life. Adventures continued for Jim in BC. He exchanged getting ‘air’ in his truck to getting ‘air’ in boats on the ocean. While in Abbotsford, Jim worked at various locations for work, enjoying the change of environment going to places as far away as Nunavut, where he learned to live in sub freezing temperatures and how to build an igloo in case of emergency. He often commented that he could never imagine staying in one job at one location or living in one place for his entire life.
He worked in Fort McMurray on the ice bridges, Richmond, BC building airport runways and most recently, he worked for Fraser River Pile and Dredge, where he loved running the machines. Jim excelled at his job wherever he worked. He was a member of the Union of Operating Engineers for 20 years. He built strong friendships with co-workers at the worksite, where he will leave a large void. Jim was at his best when on the loader overlooking Vancouver or on a combine during his favorite time of year, harvest.
Sadly, his marriage to Shauna did not last, but he was forever grateful for the children she gave him. Jim loved watching his daughters grow up and start families of their own. Jim was proud of his eldest daughter, Corina for her chosen career path and achievements. He was so grateful when Nicole gave him his best buddy and grandson, Logan, who shares his adventurous nature. Jim was always excited discussing the farming legacy with Danielle and her husband. Though Jim was never comfortable with the baby stage as soon as his grandchildren could walk and talk, his own inner child came out. He was known for spoiling the grandkids with snow cones, ice cream, candies, chocolates, and adventures. He cherished the time with his family, enjoying breakfast club with his daughters, going to the river to fish and drive remote control cars and boats with Logan. His random text messages to his ‘beautiful girls’ and facetime calls with his grandkids will be missed the most. He always ended his messages and phone calls with “I love you” and “give the kids a hug for me”.
However, just like his dad, the farm was always calling his name. He yearned to be at the farm, on the combine, or backhoe, naming every bird that flew into the yard, planting trees, filling ditches, rototilling, and looking after mom and dad. He felt blessed being able to take months off to spend with his dad, Paul, before his death. Once his dad was gone, he focused on his mom and the farm, ensuring that every year her garden was prepared, the farm and house were in good condition and that she had everything she needed to live comfortably alone on the farm until the next time he could visit. Jim appreciated the community and the numerous people that surrounded and looked after his parents. He planned to retire this year but was torn between leaving his children and going to the farm. He had big dreams about the future on the farm with his family.
Jim was a man who above all, cherished and loved his family. He was larger than life, people would always gravitate towards Jim as he was so easy to like and love. He had a kind and gentle nature, he loved all animals, and they naturally gravitated towards him. For several years, he had a chicken or two living with him, giving them love in exchange for eggs. His big smile was infectious, and he could charm a room with little effort. Jim was a simple man, valuing relationships and family over all else. He had a special place in his heart for the ladies he referred to as the ‘real housewives of Galahad’ cause Hollywood had nothing on these ladies. Jim cared deeply for seniors, visiting and volunteering at the Galahad Extended Care Center where he was an active participant in the seniors Olympics. The residents would light up when he visited as he shared his time with everyone there. Jim feared getting old, as he valued dignity into old age. He is now forever young resting in peace alongside his father and brother. We will miss him forever.
A private funeral service was held in Forestburg, Alberta, where his heart always was.
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