James Donald Cecil Tindle

November 1, 1932 – January 26, 2017

Life: He lived it his way.

His legacy is scattered across the passions that filled his life; from hockey to his multi-faceted career, to his family, his travels and the South Burnaby Lawn Bowls Club.

Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba to George and Laura Tindle, James attended Greenway Elementary School and General Wolfe High School. When his mother, Laura passed away in 1943 James and his brother became wards of the church and lived in a number of church homes and with relatives and friends through to their early teens.

As a young man living during the depression there was little money and few organized activities, but by the age of six James began to channel his youthful energy and abilities into the game of hockey, which would become his lifelong passion. He was a coach, player, referee and advocate for the game for 60 years. He was president of the Pacific Coast Amateur Hockey Association in 1969-1971, bestowed with a life membership in 1976 and was honorary president in 2004-2005. He cherished his years in the sport and gave his skates away after a family skate on his 80th birthday.

It was while working with Perth Cleaners as a driver salesman in 1952, James met his first wife Donna (nee Keith, deceased 2002). They were married that year and had three children, Keith, Barbara and Timothy. Motivated to provide a better life for his family, James joined the Winnipeg Police Department where he worked for 6 years. He has entertained his family and friends countless times with stories of stakeouts and shootings in “The Peg”.

A positive and self-directed person, James left the police department in 1959 and joined the Scott Paper Company, where he started his career in sales and marketing. His job moved him and his family from Winnipeg to Grimsby, Ontario then to Ottawa and finally to North Vancouver, where he and Donna decided to stay permanently. Leaving the Scott Paper Company, James pursued careers in marketing management positions with multi-national corporations Nalleys and Nabob Foods.

After a career spanning twenty years in corporate organizations, James formed Tindle Associates Consultants and was a featured speaker and workshop leader speaking to audiences as large as 2,000 people in Canada, the US, England and Europe. James worked with many successful companies such as Canadian Forest Products, P. Lawson Travel, Telus, Husky Oil/Mohawk and CruiseShipCenters.

James’ passion for learning and self improvement motivated him to obtain his GED, and both a master’s degree and PhD from Columbia Pacific University. Always a proponent of teamwork and coaching, along with a strong belief in the power of positive thinking, James reached the peak of his career with his work as an industrial psychologist.

James’ other achievements include the Rotary International Paul Harris Fellowship Award in 1997 and president of the American Society of Quality Control, BC Chapter.

In 1986 James married the love of his life, Mary Raikes, a nurse at Vancouver General Hospital. They shared a love of travel, theatre, dancing and have enjoyed a wide circle of friends and social activities. Their travels have taken them on 30 cruises around the globe in the past 30 years. One of their frequent destinations took them to Santa Rosa, CA where for several years James played in the Snoopy’s Senior Hockey Tournament and met Charles Schulz, the creator of the iconic Snoopy cartoon.

In 2010 James and Mary were looking for a fair-weather and low-impact activity they could do together in their golden years and they joined the South Burnaby Lawn Bowls Club. They enjoyed a great group of people and a steady schedule of games and tournaments during the spring and summer months. James was president of the club in 2011-2012 and, always a leader and a motivator to engage others in the sport, one of James’ last endeavours was to spearhead an effort to create a junior bowls program at the South Burnaby club.

James would be the first to tell you he lived a wonderful life; he lived it his way and as he wrote in his 2009 memoir, “the journey has been the reward”. James will be missed, but forever in the hearts of those who loved him.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, March 4, 2017 starting at 1:15 pm at the Firefighters Banquet Hall, 6515 Bonsor Ave, Burnaby.

No flowers by request. Donations can be made in James’ memory to Jumpstart, a charity devoted to helping kids in financial need to get a start in organized sports http://jumpstart.canadiantire.ca/en.html

Arrangements under the direction of First Memorial Funeral Services, Vancouver, BC.