October 15, 1942 - December 6, 2020
The content below, which includes my tribute, was put together by Gerry Sinkler, who also conducted a brief graveside service.
Album
James Robert Durno Kidd was born in Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland on October 15th, 1942. He passed away in St. Albert on December 6th, 2020 at age 78.
He was the second son of James and Molly Kidd. His family, along with older brother Maurice immigrated to Canada in the early 50s. Jimmy was about 9 and Maurice 11. Molly’s brothers, Sam and Ernie joined them in Canada in 1952, where they found work at CNR. Later that year, Ernie and Sam’s wives and children joined them in Canada. The early years were filled with family picnics and get togethers.
Tragedy struck in 1957 when Maurice picked up a bacteria at scout camp and subsequently passed away at age 17. Jim was starting high school at the time. He completed his schooling at Victoria Composite, graduating in 1960. While in school, he served with the Canadian Armed Forces as a gunner and was honourably discharged in 1961. He entered the communications-electrician course where he apprenticed with Alberta Government Telephones and was subsequently employed for 30 years, retiring in 1993. Another family tragedy occurred in 1976 when Jim’s cousin Eric passed away in a car accident.
On a lighter note, it’s a little know fact that Jim attended Wayne Gretskys’ wedding reception in July 1988. There is a story to that! Jimmy was also honoured for his work with immigrants, assisting in teaching English. He loved to travel and was interested in many different cultures. His travelling was curtailed in the 90s when he suffered severe mental stress.
I met Jim in 1980 after I moved from Toronto to Edmonton. We both attended the same church, we were both bachelors, and while he was 15 years older than I, we had some common interests and became friends. .Jim travelled to many places overseas, including Israel and Egypt, Czechoslovakia, China, UK and Ireland, Thailand, Malta, Jamaica and Hawaii to name a few. He very much enjoyed the history and culture of the places he visited. I roomed with him on the trip to Czechoslovakia. Jim was a well organized, experienced traveler, and was easy to travel with.
Jim was a long-time friend of the Melnyk family and spent many summer weekends at their farm near Lamont. There were 4 girls in the Melnyk family, and Jim was best man at both Pat and Linda’s weddings.
The Gretzky story...I remember in 1988 Jim had arranged a 50th anniversary celebration for his parents, and my wife and I were invited. Wayne Gretzky and his wife had their wedding reception on the same day at same hotel, and since the Kidd family had booked first, and couldn’t change to another day, we were there too. We were supposed to stay in our meeting room, but I ducked out a couple times and let Wayne buy me a beer. Wayne even gave Molly and Mr.Kidd an anniversary card. Molly told Wayne that she was a big fan and he was her second favourite player, after Gordie Howe of course!
Jim worked his entire career with AGT, Alberta Government Telephones, which became Telus when it was privatized. His last job was keeping track of all the long distance switching equipment which was installed in facilities all around the province. Jim retired from AGT in 1993.
For a long time Jimmy lived in an apartment in Riverside Towers at the east end of Jasper Avenue.
Later he moved to Shepherd’s Care Centre in Edmonton, and Citadel Care Centre in St. Albert
The last few years haven’t been kind to Jimmy. He had lost a lot of his mobility and used a wheelchair to get around, and he was unable to attend church services anymore. When he was attending services he usually sat at the back of the hall in a comfortable chair. Peggy, our coffee lady, always had a coffee and cookies ready for him, and Jim was able to visit with people. Because of COVID he was unable to receive visitors at Citadel Care since April of this year, but he did keep in touch with a small circle of close friends by phone. One thing Jimmy enjoyed was reading. They have a small library at Citadel Care which he used, and Dianne kept him supplied with the latest John Grisham novels.
Jim didn’t have a real large circle of friends. He knew a lot of people, but only had a few friends. But the friends he had were close friends and he valued them. Jim was always appreciative of the help you gave him. Quite often I picked up sundries and personal care items for him that Citadel didn’t provide. He always said thank you, and he meant it.
Tributes:
From John Stokdijk (Pat's husband and family friend)
Jim Kidd was my friend, a close enough friend to be a best man at my wedding. When Pat and I started our new life together, I vacated a spot at Riverside Towers which was a happening place for church bachelors. Jim took my spot there and that was a good move for him at that time.
After Pat and I moved to Calgary, we would often go back to Edmonton on long weekends. And we would see Jim at church services. In the summer we would pitch a tent at the Melnyk farm. Because he was a friend of the family, he would often go out to the farm where he was always welcome.
In preparing this tribute I went back into my archive of photos. I found one from 1981 with us and Jimmy at the farm on a beautiful summer day. There he was without a shirt and carrying little Mandy in his arms. It is at times like this that pictures like that become more precious.
I lost some friends when I left the church twenty-five years ago. But my friendship with Jim survived that upheaval. And over the years Linda was a bridge, keeping us up to date on how Jimmy was doing.
I had a very nice visit with Jimmy in February, 2018 at Mother's funeral. And on our trip to Alberta last year Linda and I went to visit Jimmy at Citadel Care Center. Little did I know that that would be the last time I would see him.
He had a lovely picture of himself on his wall. There was Jimmy on a camel in the Middle East. With his dark complexion and Arab garb he looked the part, looking very much like Lawrence of Arabia. That is how I would like to remember Jimmy, looking majestic on the back of a camel.
From Bruce (Nigel) Goodsir (family friend)
“I met “Jimmy” within days of becoming a new member of the Church. He being Irish, and me Scottish, was common ground enough for us to quickly develop a rapport. We both liked Guinness, bagpipes, kilts, Celtic culture, and arguing. We always felt refreshed after a good hour or two of discussing the irritating habits of others.
We were room mates for a while, and he was best man at my wedding. I visited his family often and enjoyed trading exaggerated stories with his Dad.
Jimmy’s identity was always Irish: As Irish as the Clancy Brothers, the Irish Rovers, Danny Boy and Leprechauns. That’s the way I remember him. "My Irish friend Jim Kidd.”
I often think of my friends in the Church and remember well those years of fellowship and bonds that survive to this day. I am reflecting now on my memories of Jimmy throughout the 26 years we were friends before I left Edmonton.
Satt and Shamshad Balroop (family friends)
Jimmy was a very dear friend of ours. We really got to know him very well through our dear friends Nigel and Linda in 1980. Got to know his parents too. In 1981 we encouraged him to attend the Feast of Tabernacles in Runaway Bay, Jamaica. We thoroughly enjoyed his company and had him over to our place for many dinners and Night To Be Much Observed.
Jimmy's favourite saying was it's better to be friends with married women because they are safer.
Linda and I had planned to visit him later this year but it didn't materialize.
Jimmy you will be missed. Rest in peace dear friend.
Funeral
So at a time like this, at the end of Jims’ life, one question remains: What’s next for Jim Kidd? And to answer that I turn to the scriptures, and they tell us…
In Ecclesiastes 3:20 “All go to one place: All come from dust, and all return to dust.” This seems rather cold, and final, and unsatisfying, but later in Ecclesiastes, (Ecc 12:7), we are told, “and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.” so there’s a hint of something more.
In the New Testament, all throughout the New Testament, the Bible speaks of a future resurrection of the dead. As Christians we’ve been taught this since we were children.
In John 11:25 Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying.
And in 1 Corinthians 15:42, the Apostle Paul writes “It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever.
Paul later wrote in I Thessalonians 4:16, “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. “
John writes in Revelation 20:12 in his prophetic vision of the future “I saw the dead, both small and great, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books.”
And finally Paul wrote, towards the end of his life in II Timothy 4:7 and 8 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day.”
Jimmy was a believer, and this is where I believe Jimmy is now … He has fought the good fight, he has finished his race, his name is written in the Book of Life, and he is now resting in hope of the resurrection. And that’s not a bad place to be.