Obituary for James Douglas Marks
James Douglas Marks 18 Apr 1957 - 14 May 2023
Jim Marks passed away suddenly at his home in Gimli on Sunday, May 14, 2023. He is survived by his wife, Irene, and his son, Thomas, by his sister, Cathy (Ian Gerrard), brothers, Glenn (Diane), Will and Ray (Sarah), and by his brothers and sisters-in-law, Kris (Bill Perlmutter), Lynne Erickson (Otto Christensen), Thora (Pascal Delaquis), Karl (Darlene Fridfinnson), Glen (Yumi Kobayashi), Alma (Mark McCaffrey) and Lorna, and their families. He was predeceased by his parents Lorne & Eleanor Marks, sister-in-law Vicki Marks, his parents-in-law Dr Bjarki & Borga Jakobson, his brothers-in-law, Gestur Jakobson and Gunnar Valdimarsson, and his sister-in-law, Tracy Jakobson.
Jim was born in Winnipeg and lived there until 1964, when the family moved to the farm at Newdale. He was very good at sports and, as an adult, was active in karate and basketball, soccer, golf and curling. He studied Agriculture at the University of Manitoba, making many good friends and playing Aggie football. After graduation, he worked at FeedRite at the Higgins, St Boniface and Brandon plants, and completed his Industrial Mechanic / Millwright training.
Jim & Irene were married in 1982 and made their home in Brandon, where Thomas was born in 1985. Being Tom’s parents was the best thing ever. In 1987, they took over the family farm, when Jim’s parents moved into Strathclair. Jim loved living and working with his father on the farm. Later, he worked with Gord Kaytor, building custom cabinets. Jim & Gord had a cheerful workplace where they were both proud of their accomplishments. In 2003, they moved to Gimli, where Jim worked with his brother-in-law, Karl, and then started his own woodworking business. In the last few years, he really enjoyed working with Fred Masyk doing renovations and decks. He was never happier in his work than when he had a good friend and partner to meet in the morning, share coffee or a safety meeting with, and to banter with during the day.
Jim was loved by his large extended family, and made many good friends through his work, among our neighbours, and through golf and curling. He loved to play cribbage with his brother-in-law, Bill, and played thousands of games on his phone, saving screenshots of his two “29" hands. You could always tell if Jim was outside because, if he wasn’t riding the mower, he loved to stop, chat, and laugh. He was relied on by many, and was always ready to help a friend, to assist Irene with her projects, and make plans with Thomas. He liked fireworks, visiting and sitting around a fire. He had a small boat called “The Minnow” and was looking forward to fishing this year. He was a generous and cheerful host, and he and Thomas enjoyed many BBQing experiments.
Jim enjoyed his travels to British Columbia, the US, the Caribbean, and Mexico. But mostly, he loved to be at home, rising early and drinking his coffee in the big chair he had built. In their home, the family are surrounded by the loving work of his hands - he painted, tiled and built decks, cabinets, bookcases and a fireplace hearth and mantle, replaced the kitchen, renovated the bathroom, installed water treatment equipment, and repaired the washer and dryer, and anything else that broke. He loved the dogs - Sam, Drífa and Jazz - and the cats, especially Allie, Peppy and Fluffer. He enjoyed feeding the birds and tried to attract different species to the yard. He and Tom made a greenhouse and garden, and he became the chief gardener. He chose and planted most of the seeds, monitored the temperature in the greenhouse, and did a little weeding almost every day, before he left for work. He especially enjoyed the harvest and making "Jim’s Salsa”, that seemed to get a little hotter each year.
There’s a big hole in the lives of his family and friends. We want to thank all Jim’s friends for being a part of his life, and for their support through this hard time.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Heart & Stroke Foundation. Donations made between May 1 - June 30, 2023 will be tripled by a generous anonymous donor until $600,000.00 in gifts are received. New monthly donations will be matched for 12 months. See donorinfo@heartandstroke.ca To make an online donation, please visit this page. To donate over the phone, please call us at 1-877-882-2582.
To mail a donation, please make your payment payable to Heart and Stroke Foundation and mail it to:
Heart and Stroke Foundation
1200-2300 Yonge Street, Box 2414
Toronto, ON M4P 1E4”
Jim Marks passed away suddenly at his home in Gimli on Sunday, May 14, 2023. He is survived by his wife, Irene, and his son, Thomas, by his sister, Cathy (Ian Gerrard), brothers, Glenn (Diane), Will and Ray (Sarah), and by his brothers and sisters-in-law, Kris (Bill Perlmutter), Lynne Erickson (Otto Christensen), Thora (Pascal Delaquis), Karl (Darlene Fridfinnson), Glen (Yumi Kobayashi), Alma (Mark McCaffrey) and Lorna, and their families. He was predeceased by his parents Lorne & Eleanor Marks, sister-in-law Vicki Marks, his parents-in-law Dr Bjarki & Borga Jakobson, his brothers-in-law, Gestur Jakobson and Gunnar Valdimarsson, and his sister-in-law, Tracy Jakobson.
Jim was born in Winnipeg and lived there until 1964, when the family moved to the farm at Newdale. He was very good at sports and, as an adult, was active in karate and basketball, soccer, golf and curling. He studied Agriculture at the University of Manitoba, making many good friends and playing Aggie football. After graduation, he worked at FeedRite at the Higgins, St Boniface and Brandon plants, and completed his Industrial Mechanic / Millwright training.
Jim & Irene were married in 1982 and made their home in Brandon, where Thomas was born in 1985. Being Tom’s parents was the best thing ever. In 1987, they took over the family farm, when Jim’s parents moved into Strathclair. Jim loved living and working with his father on the farm. Later, he worked with Gord Kaytor, building custom cabinets. Jim & Gord had a cheerful workplace where they were both proud of their accomplishments. In 2003, they moved to Gimli, where Jim worked with his brother-in-law, Karl, and then started his own woodworking business. In the last few years, he really enjoyed working with Fred Masyk doing renovations and decks. He was never happier in his work than when he had a good friend and partner to meet in the morning, share coffee or a safety meeting with, and to banter with during the day.
Jim was loved by his large extended family, and made many good friends through his work, among our neighbours, and through golf and curling. He loved to play cribbage with his brother-in-law, Bill, and played thousands of games on his phone, saving screenshots of his two “29" hands. You could always tell if Jim was outside because, if he wasn’t riding the mower, he loved to stop, chat, and laugh. He was relied on by many, and was always ready to help a friend, to assist Irene with her projects, and make plans with Thomas. He liked fireworks, visiting and sitting around a fire. He had a small boat called “The Minnow” and was looking forward to fishing this year. He was a generous and cheerful host, and he and Thomas enjoyed many BBQing experiments.
Jim enjoyed his travels to British Columbia, the US, the Caribbean, and Mexico. But mostly, he loved to be at home, rising early and drinking his coffee in the big chair he had built. In their home, the family are surrounded by the loving work of his hands - he painted, tiled and built decks, cabinets, bookcases and a fireplace hearth and mantle, replaced the kitchen, renovated the bathroom, installed water treatment equipment, and repaired the washer and dryer, and anything else that broke. He loved the dogs - Sam, Drífa and Jazz - and the cats, especially Allie, Peppy and Fluffer. He enjoyed feeding the birds and tried to attract different species to the yard. He and Tom made a greenhouse and garden, and he became the chief gardener. He chose and planted most of the seeds, monitored the temperature in the greenhouse, and did a little weeding almost every day, before he left for work. He especially enjoyed the harvest and making "Jim’s Salsa”, that seemed to get a little hotter each year.
There’s a big hole in the lives of his family and friends. We want to thank all Jim’s friends for being a part of his life, and for their support through this hard time.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Heart & Stroke Foundation. Donations made between May 1 - June 30, 2023 will be tripled by a generous anonymous donor until $600,000.00 in gifts are received. New monthly donations will be matched for 12 months. See donorinfo@heartandstroke.ca To make an online donation, please visit this page. To donate over the phone, please call us at 1-877-882-2582.
To mail a donation, please make your payment payable to Heart and Stroke Foundation and mail it to:
Heart and Stroke Foundation
1200-2300 Yonge Street, Box 2414
Toronto, ON M4P 1E4”