Harry "Kim" James Stainsby

Kim’s response to the comment of being lost would be “I’m not lost, you know exactly where I am”.

Mourning his loss are wife Esther, daughters Nadina (Damien Sutherland) Stainsby; Treena (Todd) Huxley (nee Stainsby); grandchildren Oskar and Armathea Huxley; brothers Ken (Theresa) Stainsby; Brian (Arden) Stainsby; Hugh (Gail) Stainsby; sisters Susan Shantz and Dorothy Onischuk; sisters-in-law Louise (David) Amlund, Diana (Roy) Woolliams and Myrna Clark. He is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews and many friends.

Kim lived and loved life. People were drawn to him by his easy smile, friendly nature and great sense of humor. He had a knack of seeing past all the bravado and noticing the person inside. This drew people to him. He had many acquaintances and a solid core of true friends. He treasured family and friends, was always willing to help them out and would protect them fiercely.

His journey through life began in Halifax and then to Victoria, BC. This was followed by periods spent in Portsmouth, England; Halifax, NS; Souris, MB; Portsmouth, England while his dad was serving in the Canadian Navy. During this time, he also met his lifelong friend Bob Ingram who was also the son of a Navy member.

Kim attended private school in Windsor, NS and then finished his education in Salmon Arm, BC after his dad retired from the Navy. All told, he attended 13 schools in 12 years in 2 countries.

Kim had many careers in his lifetime. Among the first were the world of menswear learning the art of how to dress well; the world of finance and studying bacteriology while working at the University of Manitoba. Kim was a proud member of the RCAF as a pilot in the Avro Arrow program and maintained his private pilot’s license for many years after leaving the air force.

He spent many years with Abbott Laboratories as a pharmaceutical representative for the southern half of Alberta which brought him and his family to Calgary. He was able to spend time with camping and fishing with family and friends. He also volunteered his time to carpool Treena’s soccer team from games to dinner to pick up points. The big brown window van aka “Super Truck” also provided a warm place to hold team meetings at half time on cool rainy days.

Kim was a member of Toastmasters and used this knowledge as a member of the Stampede Promotion Committee going to give presentations to organizations about Stampede and its history. He belonged to the local CB Club which was handy during his time spent on the road. He also volunteered at the drug centre. Kim left Abbott to become a franchisee with Radio Shack which took him to Richmond, BC and ultimately back to Calgary.

Kim was always happy near the ocean, and he had great fun arranging and participating in a couple of deep-sea fishing trips off the coast of Vancouver Island. The fish was very yummy.

The last many years of his life were spent as an equine therapist. This involved treating horses with Shiatsu and magnetic therapies. He thoroughly enjoyed this occupation as “horses do not have any preconceived notion of how they should feel after a treatment”. He was always happy when he made them feel better. He even had horses approach him if they hurt which made his heart happy. He helped the riders feel better too so they would not hurt their horses.

Kim took great delight in introducing his wife to new things so he took her hot air ballooning and on three cruises – one to Catalina Island & Mexico (as a test to see if Esther could do it); one through the Panama Canal (which was also on his bucket list) and one into the Caribbean for 10 days, among other adventures. His favorite saying was “what can I do to make my wife happy today” and he did his best to succeed.

Kim’s journey through life ended peacefully in Calgary, Alberta.

In Kim’s memory, on July 11, 2023, please select your beverage of choice and toast Kim and his life and share a story with friends.

A private celebration of life will be held at a later date.