James Murray WALKER

Saying goodbye to Jimmy Walker . . . well, that’s an impossibility.

Jimmy Walker lives on …in our hearts, in our minds, in our memories.

Jimmy had a large life.  He had a big personality and he took up space in a room.  It was a gift.  He drew people to him.  He could make you feel special in the way he said your name whenever he greeted you.  Loudly!  Like he was delighted to see you.   And he always was.

Jimmy lived a simple life that he populated with complex accessories…

…model trains that meandered through charming villages and flew around a  room filled to the edges with realistic Rocky Mountain scenery

…miniature Merry-go-Rounds and Ferris wheels created and decorated by hand,  to be bestowed on some of his favourite people

…fishing for salmon with his father, brother, brother-in-law, sons, and an array of others who thrived on the camaraderie

…dozens of tiny soldiers, each brought to life from molten metal and patches of expertly applied enamel

…motorcycles, a bond born of a kid’s rugged adventure in an adults’ war that evolved into a lifelong love of riding fast

…golf, a joy given to him later in life and played not only well but humbly

…a cat named Charlie that as often as not took a swipe at him

And a garden landscape, hewn out of a rocky slope overlooking a stretch of ocean and far-off mountains offering up a watercolour view that even after decades, he and Peggy never tired of watching.

But Jimmy’s song of life was his family and his friends.

His beloved Peggy, wooed away from her home in England as a war bride, the love of his life!

He made a home for her in Canada and together they raised a tribe, three sons and a daughter – Jimmy Jr., Gary, Murray, and Dorinda.  And four grew to eight – Fays, Lois, Priscilla, and Rob.  And eight to seventeen with the addition of nine grandchildren who then brought in six spouses and eight great-grandchildren for a healthy handful of thirty-one in Jimmy’s collective family.

He held a special reverence for his family roots – mother and dad, Hettie and Curly; sister Babe and husband Mac; twin brother Harry and wife Joyce.  Jimmy was also generous with his time as he loved to raise a glass and laugh with an abundance of friends.

He was a man comfortable in his skin, who accepted change and made the best of it.  Even with the loss of his eye sight, the loss of his beloved Peggy, and ultimately, having to make a life for himself in the nursing home, he always kept that charming smile.

Jimmy Murray Walker – son, husband, father, uncle, grandfather, great-grandfather, friend – his life was about love, courage, fun, laughter, and generosity of spirit.

Jimmy, you’ll be impossible to forget.  We’ll see you in heaven.