Jim was a family doctor, husband, father, grandfather, skipper, and great friend. He was a son of Vancouver but grew up in Port Alberni. He attended UBC for a Bachelor of Arts in 1965 and a Master of Science in 1970 and finished with a Doctor of Medicine in 1973. He interned at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton, Alberta.

He opened his medical practice on West Hastings in Burnaby in 1974. He shared a practice with Dr Juergen Rauh during his first years at that location. Jim was a competent, compassionate, and caring physician, generous of time and spirit. The practice gradually grew into a five-doctor clinic. He enjoyed all aspects of medicine and was appreciated as a colleague, friend, and mentor.

He served as chief of staff at Burnaby Hospital. He spent many years on the board of the Section of General Practice, as it was known in those days (ultimately morphing into the Society of General Practitioners). That is where Jim and I became well acquainted. Jim had an innate sense of fun and mischief that evolved into many escapades and adventures, often involving the BCMA (now Doctors of BC).

Jim was also on the board of Pacific Blue Cross and was a medical advisor for Parkinson Society British Columbia. He retired from practice in 2004.

While Jim had time for many interests, his biggest passion was sailing. He was an active member of the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club for over 40 years. His boat, the Stovepipe, was often one of the smallest boats in the harbor, with the most people in the cockpit. There were many cruises, including to the Gulf Islands, Barkley Sound, Broughton Archipelago, and beyond.

Jim’s life was celebrated with his friends and acquaintances with an Eight Bells Service at his yacht club on 3 January 2024.

He will be deeply missed by Brenda, his wife of 57 years; his children, Kent, Ariel, and Janice; his grandchildren, Danielle, Oscar, and Robin; his siblings, Michael, Malcolm, and Julia; and his many nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Jim was the kind of person who made your life richer simply by knowing him.
—Al Kallas, MD
Vancouver

hidden

[10]

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License [10].