Jim Douglas - additional pictures

 Hi Everyone,

Here are a few random pictures we meant to add earlier (when we added the Celebration of Life event pictures).  We will put up the memorial brochure sometime soon as well.

- Allie & Sharon

Pictures from the Celebration of Life event - setup and parades of bikes

Large images below! Please don't click the link if you're on a mobile device or dial-up - there are many large images in this posting, and it may eat your entire data plan! To see the pictures, please click on the link below.   We'll be happy to burn you a disc or get them to you some other way if need be - just e-mail or call Sharon.

Pictures from Celebration of Life - speakers

Warning: large images in this post! You might want to look later if on mobile or dial-up.

Click the below link to see pictures of those who spoke during the ceremony part, and of the audience afterwards.  We are very grateful that some people were brave enough to speak - it was not very easy for most to get up in front of such a big group!

(sorry some of these pictures are a bit fuzzy).

We will add more picture posts as we get more pictures.  Thanks again to everyone who put on the event and attended!

Thank you! The memorial was amazing!

We are so grateful to the many people who worked so hard putting the memorial event together!

We will post pictures of the event to this site within the next few days.

The parade of bikes was fantastic, and it was really great to see so many people come out.

If you have pictures we can add to this page, please send us an e-mail, and we'll add them.

douglas[dot]may[at]shaw[dot]ca .

(replace [dot] with . and [at] with @ - we are trying to thwart spam-bots)

Thanks,

Sharon & Allie

Details for Celebration of Life

Time and Date for Jim's Celebration of Life memorial event have now been announced; we hope you can join us!  We will have another small family event in the Okanagan for those who are not able to make it down to this one.

Sunday, May 27, 2012, 2:00 pm (until about 4:00 pm)
Victoria Motorcycle Club property, 4192 Happy Valley Rd,  Metchosin BC (marker location is a bit off on the google map).
Jim's family is very grateful to VMC's members for so generously offering use of the property for this event!

This is outdoors as Jim would have wanted it, so come and meet with friends (old and new) for laughter and remembrances.  The Ceremony will start at 2 pm.  Please dress casually - jerseys and T-shirts are fine, for example - please wear functional footwear as the site is not paved.  Please bring a lawn chair if you can - there will be some extras for those who ride in.

If you wish to speak during the event, please e-mail Sharon by May 24 so we can work out the speaking schedule.   douglas "dot" may "at" shaw "dot" ca (please write in usual e-mail address format - "dot" means . and "at" means @ - trying to avoid spam bots).

Martin S. has provided a very useful map below, and please heed the advice about the best way to
arrive.

Turn right into the club property, which is on the right hand side (if driving South) just
past Glenforest Way. Look for sign on road side and Yellow& Red balloons.
From UP-Island you can turn off the #1 Highway at either Goldstream or the interchange by
Costco and follow the road directions to Hwy 14(the highway to Sooke) then follow directions
above on the map.*

Please use caution when getting near the property and slow down as there are frequently bottle-necks in the area.  Parking capacity is good and we will have someone directing parking. Anyone with mobility issues, please let the person directing traffic know so they can get you to an area close to the ceremony.

Anyone wishing to attend on motorcycles, please meet at Westshore Town Centre (aka Canwest Mall, Langford) near the Tim Hortons in the West Shore plaza section so we can ride in as a
group. Depart from Mall at 1:30 pm sharp!! Thank you to Dan, Martin, Ruth, Terry
and Gary & Elizabeth for organizing this!

Please see flyer at: www.vmc.bc.ca/images/stories/events/celebration of life.pdf 


If lost - call two five zero 886 8576 by 1:45 Sunday.

*Please take Happy Valley heading South from Sooke Road or Latoria  - if you take Happy Valley heading North (from Metchosin Road) you will hit the Farmers Market and Metchosin big Annual Garage Sale on that day…it will not only be slow going through that section, you may then have extreme issues turning LEFT into the property on Happy Valley Road. IF you want to take Metchosin Road part way, please watch for the sign for Olympic View GOLF Course-that is LATORIA ROAD and it does connect to Happy Valley Road (turn left / south when you hit that intersection) and then you would be on the right side of the street, which will make it easier to get into the club property.


We will also have a section ribboned off where the bikes can be parked (after the group of riders arrive).   Please do not sit on the bikes or let kids play on them or near them unless the owner is with you.

Please do bring your children if you wish (we will set up a station with some things to
do). This is not intended to be a doom and sadness event - it is a celebration of all the good things, and the intention is not to focus on the past few years of Jim's illnesses, but to share good stories and what we liked about him, and to talk about the good times.

We unfortunately must request that you do not bring your dogs with you to this event, due to the location and number of people expected.

A note to those who have never been to the property before-we are only using the lower area of the Club Property for this event, so unless you are a member or with a member please do not go beyond this area as there will be members out practising for a major trials event the next weekend. There will be no bikes running in the lower area during the ceremony.

There is a nice acknowledgement of Jim's passing in Roger B's VMC newsletter - see the link from www.vmc.bc.ca/images/stories/vmc newsletter 2012-4.pdf and go to page 4.

There was a nice feature in the newspaper which we've scanned and pasted here - thanks to the people who wrote this one!

Original obituary:
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/timescolonist/obituary.aspx?n=james-stanley-douglas-jim-jimmy-d&pid=157113962
Announcement of Celebration of Life:
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/timescolonist/obituary.aspx?n=jim-douglas&pid=157557250

Obituary

Jim Douglas

July 20, 1948 - April 14, 2012

Jim passed away peacefully, with family by his side, on Saturday, April 14, 2012 at Glenwarren Lodge in Victoria.  Jim's condition became more and more complicated with each ensuing infection, and he required constant professional nursing care so our plans to bring him home permanently could not come to fruition despite everyone's very best efforts. 

The obituary ran in last week's Times Colonist and the link is here:
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/timescolonist/obituary.aspx?n=james-stanley-douglas-jim-jimmy-d&pid=157113962

Details of a memorial service are still pending.  Thanks, Sharon & Allie

We have received many kind messages of condolence from Jim's friends.  If anyone is finding out via the grapevine, we are sorry we have not got his obituary in the paper yet.

After all of these difficult months, things accelerated very quickly, and it takes some time to get an obituary in the paper.

We are hoping that with a later date for a memorial celebration of his life, everyone will have enough notification to attend.  Jim liked food, people, being outside, and of course, bikes, so we are trying to find an appropriate space to accommodate all of this - feel free to send us any ideas for location.

Thanks,

Sharon & Allie

More random photos

Here are some more good pictures we've found over the past few days.

Photos

Here are some new (and a few old favourite) photos just sent to us by Roger B. of VMC.  Thank you, Roger!

One more from Darren P. via Roger: