Jim Falk (Class of 1963) passed away on Friday, January 26, 2018 with immediate and extended family surrounding him. The family shares that it was a sacred time of prayer and reciting Psalm 23.
Jim was a beloved member of MEI’s 1963 basketball team that went undefeated, won a first-ever B.C. title for MEI, and captured the imagination of our community. He was widely regarded as the most entertaining and skillful backcourt player in the province, at that time. In 2013, Jim was interviewed for a 50th anniversary front page feature in the Abbotsford News entitled When We Were Invincible.
A Memorial Service will be held to celebrate Jim’s life on Monday, February 12, 1:30 pm at Bakerview Church, 2285 Clearbrook Rd, Abbotsford, BC.
> Sign the online guestbook at Woodlawn Funeral Home
Eight members of MEI’s 1963 basketball title team – Ed Suderman, Peter Hooge, Howard Loewen, Dennis Neumann, Vern Giesbrecht, Dan Ratzlaff, Harold Derksen and Jim Falk (from left) – attended a reunion event at MEI in 2013.
Source: Dignity Memorial
Jim Falk was born in the Abbotsford Cottage Hospital to Jake and Agnes Falk in 1944. He grew up on the family’s five acre farm on Huntingdon Road along with his older brothers Ron and Bob and his younger siblings Judy, Jack, Miri and Karen.
As the years passed, sports became an important part of his life. Legion softball, Kinsman soccer, volleyball and basketball at M.E.I. dominated his elementary and high school activities.
It was in high school that he met the love of his life, Betty Friesen. Jim and Betty married in 1966 and remained best friends throughout their 52 years together. Daughters Julia and Tracey joined them in the early seventies and, in Jim’s words, “completed the family of four that inspired and encouraged me throughout the years, three better friends a husband and father could not have had”.
Jim “escaped the smells of the chicken barns” and spent 33 wonderful years teaching, coaching, and counseling with amazing colleagues and middle/high school students in Chilliwack, BC.
Along the way, Jim was surrounded by wonderful friends who remained loyal companions throughout his life. He also found joy and creativity in gardening and it was time spent outside in the yard that allowed Jim to form meaningful relationships with neighbors in every community he lived in.
In Jim’s words, “I would not exchange my life for anything. It was truly a blast. Now, onward to life number two. Look forward to seeing you there.”
Jim is survived by his wife, Betty, his two daughters, Julia and Tracey, his mother Agnes, and siblings Ron, Bob, Jack and Karen. He is predeceased by his father Jake and his sisters Judy and Miri.
