James McLaren Halley

North Vancouver - James M. (Jim) Halley passed away on May 18, 2025 after a lengthy battle with Lewy Body Dementia.

Jim was predeceased by his wife of 59 years, Mary Lynn Halley (nee Taylor), who passed away on March 1, 2019 of Alzheimer’s Disease.

He is survived by their two daughters, Karen Halley (Gene Stirchak) of West Vancouver and Jane Lee (Doug Lee) of Victoria, and three grandchildren, Laura Stirchak of Vancouver, Matthew Stirchak of West Vancouver, and Alexandra Lee of Victoria. Jim is also survived by many friends and former colleagues.

Jim was born and raised in Brandon, Manitoba and completed a B.Comm. and an LLB at the University of Manitoba. Upon graduating in 1966, Jim was hired by the Department of Justice tax branch in Ottawa (now known as CRA) where he worked for three years learning about taxation law. With this experience, Jim joined Clark Wilson in 1969 and the family moved to Vancouver.

At Clark Wilson, Jim specialized in Estate and Tax Planning and his advice helped many clients. During his time with the firm, his clients not only wanted Jim’s tax advice, but they also trusted him enough to ask him to join their Boards of Directors so that his general advice was available for all aspects of the companies’ major business decisions. Jim’s expertise also resulted in him being asked by the Law Society of BC to volunteer his time to explain tax to various groups which asked for help, including immigrant groups, service clubs, charities, and other organizations.

In 1986, Jim was named a Queen’s Counsel for his leadership in the field of tax law and his community work, including the establishment of Canuck Place, which was North America’s first free standing hospice for children and today remains a worldwide model for hospice care for children and their families. Given Jim’s reputation as a trustworthy Executor of their estates by many of his clients, Jim was named Executor by Elizabeth Wlosinki, owner of Glen Brae, the future Canuck Place. As a part of this role, he was instrumental in turning Glen Brae, the heritage house left by Elizabeth to the City of Vancouver, into a lasting benefit for BC as the location of Canuck Place. Following this, Jim also served on the board of Canuck Place for many years.

Jim retired from Clark Wilson in 2011, after 42 years at the firm. He spent his retirement years living a quiet life with Mary Lynn and golfing as much as possible at the Capilano Golf and Country Club. Jim leaves a legacy of being a kind, charismatic, caring, and personable individual, who was deeply supportive of educational and career opportunities for all. He was a mentor throughout his adult life to help benefit individuals and their families. He will be deeply missed.

The family would like to thank the staff at Sunrise of Lynn Valley for the amazing care and consideration of Jim and his family which was unstinting. In lieu of flowers, kindly make a donation in Jim’s memory to an organization of your choice.