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A sad anniversary


lew

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My son Jim was always an adventurous kid growing up and loved doing crazy stuff. He was seldom afraid of dangerous situations so we weren't surprised when he told us he was gonna become an iron worker.

 

Their the guys that walk the narrow steel beams hundreds of feet in the air and bolt them together to form the skeletons of buildings.

 

He became very good at his job and ended up being one of the foremen for his company. He wasn't intimidated by heights but had a great respect for them. Strange as it seems, he always said the higher the job, the more he enjoyed it.

 

Safety belts are obviously mandatory for anyone doing that type of work, but sometimes they have to unhook them to get into certain places and sadly that was when something went terribly wrong and my son fell to his death from a building they were erecting.

 

That was 7 years ago today.

 

Jim was 37 years old and had been walking the steel for 20 years.

 

Anyways, the last couple days I've been wandering around on the internet looking at some of the places he helped build and found some pictures of a few of the more familiar places you may know.

 

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He did alot of the steel work in parts of Scotia Plaza and was working there the day 3 other construction workers were killed.

 

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This is St. Mary's Cement on the 401 at Bowmanville. If you look above and behind the large building to the left of center you can see the steel cap on top of the chimney that Jim and his partner installed. Compare the size of that cap to the size of the vehicles on the ground and you can imagine how tough of a job it was to install.

 

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When your watching the evening news and they show you the traffic jams on the Gardner Expressway, some of the cameras are mounted on brackets that Jim installed on top of the pod on the CN Tower about 1200 feet above the city.

 

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When you go to the Sportsman Show at the Exhibition Grounds you'll see alot of Jims work there as he installed many of the curved steel beams that form the front of the building. I always have a real feeling of pride everytime I go there and see his work.

 

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One of his biggest jobs and one that he was really proud of was the massive Hybernia oil rig in Newfoundland. He worked on that job for a long time and put up a lot of the steel structure.

 

He said the most beautiful place he ever worked was near Fort St. John, in northern British Columbia where he erected a bunch of communication towers. That was a place he even talked about retiring to when the time came

 

He worked all over Canada and other parts of the world but one of his favorite jobs was erecting a couple buildings in China. He spent a year in Bejing and then another year in Shanghai and was talking about going back to supervise more jobs when they were ready to go.

 

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That's Jim on your right in the brown coat with his best bud Kirk when they were in China.

 

He was a big tough guy at 6' 4" and strong as an ox but could also be as gentle as a lamb and was loved by all who knew him.

 

His funeral was huge and alot of the members of this board attended and for that I'll always be thankful. The number of flower bouquets we received at our home from OFNers was unbelievable and meant so much to my family. Even a month after the funeral flowers were still arriving.

 

Anyways, sorry for the long ramble so early in the morning, but I think of Jim always, specially on the anniversaries of his death and today I just thought I'd share some of his life with you.

 

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Edited by lew
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Sad day indeed Lew - this was before my time on the board so the first I have heard of it. You raised a fine young man from what I can see. He did very well with what he chose as a way of life right until the tragic events that took his life. He left some amazing contributions behind that you can be rightfully proud of. My sympathies to you on this day that doubtless weighs heavy on your family's heart.

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Dang 7 years already it does not seem that long ago when I remember you telling us about it thanks for the post Lew it was nice to see the things he has done. he lived a full life and just think many will not leave there city before they die for the young age he sure made you guys proud.

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Never met you Lew, and only know you through the words spoken of you by the friends you have in here.All good words BTW.

But after reading your tribute to him, and seeing his picture, he was most definately his fathers son.

 

Keep his memory alive, and God Bless you and your familly Lew.

 

 

Paul

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Thanks for all the kind replies folks, they mean alot to both myself and my wife.

 

Joey & Phil, it was an honour having you both at the funeral and Spiel, your yearly condolance messages have always been much appreciated.

 

Jim was an excellent fisherman, specially bass & pickeral, and if he was here today he'd definetely be a member of this board and would be proud to call you folks his friends.

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Hard to believe it has been 7 years Lew, I remember that day well. You and your family are in my thoughts today.

 

G.

 

Gerritt, I also remember very vividly the day you also lost your son and as with Jim, it's hard to believe so many years have passed since that terrible day for you & yours.

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Gerritt, I also remember very vividly the day you also lost your son and as with Jim, it's hard to believe so many years have passed since that terrible day for you & yours.

 

 

Thanks Lew, 9 years ago this past October. Time certainly has marched on...

 

 

G

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