Obituary of James Parfett

IN LOVING MEMORY JAMES PARFETT 1922-2005 James (Jim) Parfett passed away peacefully in the Maidstone Union Hospital on Monday, January 17, 2005 at the age of 82. Jim is survived by two daughters; Bonnie Shearman of Maidstone; Colleen (Jack) Reckwell of Maidstone; two grandsons; Brad (Jody) Freyman of Loon Lake, SK and children Jaida, Tanner and Hunter; Kurt (Chelene) Freyman of Maidstone and children Daegan and Kaelin; one brother; Don Parfett of Cornwall, ON; sisters-in-law Orpha Parfett of Calgary, AB; Mary Parfett of Ft. Saskatchewan, AB; brother-in-law Don McFadyen of Rimbey, AB; as well as many nieces and nephews. Jim was predeceased by his loving wife Betty in 1991, as well as sisters Ruth, Peg, and Shirley and brothers Jack, Bill, and Bud. At his request, no funeral service will be held. A private internment at the Maidstone Cemetery will be held at a later date. Jim was born on August 16th, 1922 in Watson, Sk. The Parfett family moved to the tiny town of Bruce, Alberta in 1927 and this is where they remained, with all eight Parfett children growing up and schooling there. Many happy childhood memories were made in Bruce, crocus picking, turning in gopher tails for one penny each, heading to the ““Old Swimming Hole”” in the summertime, going to the Edmonton Exhibition, and camping at nearby Cooking Lake. The big event in Bruce was always the Stampede. The Parfetts operated a food booth and Jim and all of the siblings were expected to help out. To this day the Bruce Stampede attracts thousands of visitors to the small town of a few hundred. Jim was very proud when, in the summer of 2000 at a Parfett family reunion, he had every member of his immediate family there in the hometown he grew up in to see him ride in the Stampede parade. The railway and rail depot played an important role in those days. Being on the main line many special trains passed through Bruce including passenger, circus, exhibition, military and even Royal trains. What an impression this must have left on young Jim, as this interest and curiosity manifested itself when he chose as his career railway telegraphy and agency work. He would go on to work for Canadian National Railway for approximately 30 years. In 1940, at the age of 18, Jim enlisted in the army. His brother Jack to whom he was very close enlisted a month later. They joined the Edmonton Infantry Battalion and from there Jim was transferred to Victoria, BC to operate radio and Jack was with the First Special Service force. By pure chance, four years later and thousands of miles from home in the middle of WWII, the two ended up stationed within fifty miles of each other in Italy. They were able to contact each other and visit in Naples during a lull in the battle of Rome. We can only imagine how happy they must have been to see each other! Jim was later transferred to Belgium in 1945 and was there when the war ended. Jim was discharged and came home to Bruce, and this is where he met Betty Poaps, a young school teacher. Two years of courtship cumulated in marriage in Edmonton in 1947. Jim then completed his various railway courses and started work for CN. Jim and Betty moved to Edmonton and soon after had their first child, a daughter named Bonnie. Following a transfer to Snaring, Alberta near Jasper, their second child, daughter Colleen, was born. Four more transfers and a few years later, they ended up in Maidstone, Sk. Jim continued on with his CN work, Betty taught school, and their two daughters were suddenly growing up and leading lives of their own. Bonnie went to school in Edmonton at Nait and Colleen married and blessed Jim and Betty with two grandsons, Brad and Kurt. Jim and Betty moved back to Edmonton in 1970 and purchased a home in the city. Jim loved visits to his new home from his children and grandchildren, taking pride in his house, yard, flowers and garden. It would be a very special visit if he had tickets to take the grandsons to Edmonton Eskimo or Oiler games over the years as Jim absolutely lived for his sports and was quite the fan. He was also an avid golfer who spent many hours on many different courses, and later in life when he was unable to golf, he still loved to watch golf on TV. Jim retired in 1978 from CN. He and Betty then had the pleasure of taking trips together to far away places and truly enjoying each others company in retirement. They toured Canadian battle gravesites in Italy, Northern Europe, and the D-Day landing site. They toured Atlantic Canada, Mexico, Portugal, and traveled on numerous occasions to Hawaii. Jim also loved to camp and they toured each summer in RVs throughout Western Canada and the US. Jim and Betty celebrated their 40th Wedding Anniversary by renewing their vows in the same church they had wed in. It had since been declared a historical building and was moved to Fort Edmonton Park when they held this special celebration.Jim’’s beloved Betty passed away in 1991. In 1995 Jim moved back to Maidstone to be closer to his family. He enjoyed bowling and curling in the winter and golfing in the summer. Always an avid gardener he tended to his yard and garden, loving this hobby. In these later years Jim was happy to be living near Colleen and Bonnie, Brad and Kurt, and his five young great grandchildren. He loved watching his great grandkids play and goof around at Christmas or family birthday parties. Jim will be remembered always as a loving companion, devoted father, wonderful grandpa and great grandpa. His sarcasm and wit always got a chuckle out of friends, family and even the odd stranger. We as a family have many, many happy memories of special times with ““Grandpa Jim””, and those memories we will cherish and hold near to our hearts forever. ““I LOVE YOU GRANDPA”” And he was so loveable to me, I never got to see my Grandma Betty Because she was up in the sky before Grandpa Jim died. But she dreams about Grandpa and they will, Always be together now. By great granddaughter Kaelin, age six. Written on behalf of Daegan, Jaida, Kaelin, Tanner and Hunter. THANK YOU Dr. Howard-Tripp, Dr. Kennedy and the nursing staff at Royal University Hospital Saskatoon, Maidstone ambulance attendants, the nurses and staff at Maidstone Union Hospital who took care of Jim in the Palliative Care Unit and made sure his last days were comfortable, thank you to everyone who called, sent cards, flowers and gifts of food during the time of our loss. Your kindness and comforting words we will never forget. Donations in Jim’s memory may be made to the Pine Island Lodge Building Fund, Canadian Cancer Society or the M.S. Society. McCaw Funeral Services administered the cremation. Colleen and Jack Bonnie Brad and Jody and family Kurt and Chelene and family