Tribute

Jim Felske

November 10, 1952 – June 15, 2020

We have lost so much with Jim’s passing, but are so grateful that he was a part of our lives and that he is now free to soar with the eagles that he loved.  Jim fought long and hard, but in the end, even he had to concede defeat and was able to die at home with the support and care of his wife, Faye and stepson, Logan, as well as the staff of Fraser Health who came into the home to care for him.  There are far too many to thank; Jim received the very best of care over the years, stretching the boundaries of the possible, with the hope that his suffering might lead to new and better treatments which would help others in the years to come.

Jim was a gentle man with a fierce intellect, a big heart, a subversive sense of humour, an iron will and the ability to build just about anything he set his mind to.  He was a dreamer with a profoundly practical bent, gifted in maths but still not entirely certain of the times tables.  In his first marriage, he and his wife, Gail, raised not only their own children, Karestin and Jayson, but fostered over thirty children before Gail died, some of whom kept in touch with him still.  He was very proud to have been a grandfather to Samantha, and recently a great grandfather to her own daughter, Scarlet.

In time, Jim formed a new family with Faye, becoming very much a part of his stepson’s lives – Maitland, Chris and Logan were fiercely protective of him, as he was of them.  Jim was so very proud of their children in turn, and a loving Grandpa to the end.  Set free with his last breath, Jim is one step ahead of us, aware now of the mysteries that lie beyond this life that he clung to so ferociously.  Godspeed.