The City of Airdrie is mourning the loss of Jim McPhee.

No one feels the hurt and loss of the President of Stephen's Backpacks Society more than his wife Nancy and her family.  Nancy called him her "Scottish Superman," and "a man of love, a man of faith and the most selfless person I know."

McPhee died on May 4th at the age of 74.  He was born in Glasgow, Scotland and immigrated to Canada in 1965.  He was hired almost immediately in the communications industry and rose up the corporate ladder.  Jim and Nancy were married on New Year's Eve, 1988.  They've lived in Airdrie for 25 years.  McPhee eventually started his own business, Scottie Communications which turned into an extremely successful venture.

Nancy says, "He sold his business when my mom passed away because he said he needed to support me on our new venture which was fostering children, opening up our home.  Here's this man ready for retirement and yet he's saying, 'you know what, your mom's not here anymore, she was with us for 15 years, so I need to be home to help you.  We need to raise these kids together."

The first child they took home turned out to be the motivation behind Stephen's Backpacks.  "Our son Stephen, I'll never forget when we walked out of Peter Lougheed Hospital when he was 11 days old and Jim had his chest out so big I thought he was going to pop some buttons.  He was just such a man of love and caring for kids."

According to Nancy, the last 14 years of his life turned into a monumental battle against cancer.  "He had five different types of cancer over the last 14 years, and he never waivered.  He fought one and won, fought the next one and won, and fought the next one and won, and this last one became a war, it was ten tumours in his liver and he didn't quit."  

Even at his weakest and in the height of his cancer battles, Stephen's Backpacks took up a special place in Jim's heart.  "He was in the hospital in December and the backpacks were towards the end of December.  He was weak, but he came down and said, I've got to shake the hands of those volunteers, those are important, those are people who really care about what we're doing."

When his five year old son came up with the idea for Stephen's Backpacks, Jim and Nancy were blown away as parents.  Nancy explains, "He had been diagnosed with autism, so we're like, 'whoa, he wants to help these kids, we've got to get behind him.'  Jim was amazing.  He was President of Stephen's Backpacks for the whole time we've been a society, and even through illness, even through chemo treatments, he shone that light for his son, and he believed that reaching out to other children was just such an important part of life because children don't ask to be put in those unfortunate situations."

A story when Jim was weakened by chemo treatments really points to his support for his son.  "Stephen was given a Governor General's award that was going to be in Edmonton.  Jim went to his oncologist and said, 'I'm so weak right now on this chemo, I'm not going to make it, I'm not going to be able to support my son.'  The oncologist said, 'well the chemo isn't working Jim' and Jim said, 'I'm done, I'm coming off chemo and I'm going to Edmonton,' and he did."

Nancy says Jim had a message for Stephen and all his children.  "God has a plan, that's all you need to know.  You always have compassion and empathy for those around you, and you don't judge.  That was a big thing for Jim.  You don't judge others because of their vulnerability.  He listened to people's stories.  The room was just brighter every time he left a room.  Everybody always felt better about who they are.  That's what he tried to teach his kids."

A candlelight service to celebrate the life of Jim McPhee will be held tonight (Friday, May 12) at 7:00 pm at the Town and Country Centre, 275 Jensen Drive, Airdrie.  

In lieu of flowers, Jim's wish was to have his memory help children in need. You can make a donation to Stephen's Backpacks Society here.

 

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