Tribute Wall
In Memory of
Jim Lanthier
1940 - 2021
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Mary Power posted a condolence
Friday, July 2, 2021
With Jim’s passing, a quiet star has left us.
Jim was an interior, introspective individual, nonetheless a sociable man with a deep interest in people who loved nothing better than a convivial dinner with family or friends, and especially the opportunity for conversation, discussion and debate.
Like a Renaissance man, Jim’s mind was open and modern, questioning of orthodoxy and sustained by a love of reading and an intellectual curiosity that ranged over many subjects. Jim could talk about the Jesuits or Oliver Cromwelll, Stephen Harper or Novak Djokovic with equal fluency. He was engaged by the world and those around him.
Earlier photographs show Jim as he was before his illness- a strong, handsome man, whose tennis and golf abilities are remembered by many. He was cruelly robbed of these enjoyments by Parkinson’s.
To my sister Cathleen who came to Jim later in life, he proved to be a wonderful companion, a man of infinite kindness, wit and humour, a man who shone with a quiet and steady light.
Jim will be missed and he will be remembered.
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Maggie McCoy posted a condolence
Friday, July 2, 2021
This came much too soon but we can never be ready to say good-bye to a dear friend like Jim whose quiet presence inspired a sense of trust, and of being protected. When you were talking to Jim, he was listening to you, taking you seriously, reading between your lines, and understanding the emotional, or intellectual place, your words were coming from. Because he was a poet and he understood the weight of words.
I am grateful that, despite the pandemic, you were able to sit by him and hold his hand and share unspoken thoughts as he made his last journey. This morning I re-read “Wife in Winter “—I am so glad that Jim was open to my suggestion to commission composer Matthew Larkin to set those gorgeous lines that are filled with such poignant images and such emotional truth. My heart was hurting by the time I got to “Endings”. Matthew’s music is an intimate cycle of songs drawn from Jim’s words. The Ottawa Choral Society has performed the work twice; performances which brought painful understanding to the hearts of our choir members and to the audience members with whom we were sharing the concerts. Jim has left the world a fine body of work and many cherished memories of a great father, grandfather, husband and friend. He is free now from the torments of Parkinson’s which, with the loving help of his wife Cathy, he accepted with his usual grace because he was Jim. May he rest in peace
Love, Maggie and Les
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Kristin Jensen lit a candle
Thursday, July 1, 2021
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To all the Lanthier Family.
The Lanthier and Jensen families first met in 1972 at Laurentian Village, Sudbury and there began a lasting friendship. Jim was our kids' favourite "Uncle." Ever the wordsmith, he delighted in and memorized our youngsters' developing word patterns for future reference. "I don't yike ice!" "I yike yewo fowzes" (dandelions.) "We're going in the D Double car wagon" (the VW van.) Always the kindest of men, Jim would curl his hair and suck his thumb, so that our young daughter Kristin believed he was a kindred spirit.... someone who also had a hard time kicking the habit. After their move to Toronto, Jane and Jim kindly welcomed all 6 of us into their home on holidays. It was a tight squeeze, but lots of fun. Welcomed again to their home during the dark days when Bob had his last operation in Toronto, Jim insisted on driving me to and from the Hospital. Their loving support meant the world to me. After Jane's sad passing, our families would subsequently reconnect when Jim met and married our friend Cathy. Who knew that seating them at the same table at Kristin's wedding would lead to another wedding?! It was lovely to see Jim happy and enjoying life again. Cathy has given Jim the gift of her selfless love by caring for him in their home through these final tough times. No easy feat. Rest in peace, Jim. Your generosity and kindness will be forever cherished. A life well lived and loved by all who were privileged to know you.
Love, Fran Jensen
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Rosanne and Tim Baker posted a condolence
Thursday, July 1, 2021
In 2016 we had the pleasure of spending a whole week with Cath and Jim in Varadero, Cuba. Although Jim was becoming more limited in his activities we were able to enjoy many conversations by the pool and at our dinners together. Jim enjoyed the warm sunshine, ocean views and a break from the dreary Toronto winter. We shared many interests with Jim - tennis, canoeing, the Habs, Montreal, education and books to name just a few. We are so happy that he and Cathleen found each other and were able to enjoy travel and companionship for a good number of years. Jim - you will be sorely missed.
Tim and Rosanne Baker
Jim’s Remembrance Haiku
Poetry—to ask
Only what you have given
Life—“More poetry”
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Dylan Baker posted a condolence
Thursday, July 1, 2021
Jim and Cath very kindly let me stay with them at their home in Toronto for a few months as I started a new chapter in my life. I remember how proud and eager Jim was to share with me the poetry he had worked so hard on over the years. Whether it was sharing a round of golf with him and Cath, to simply watching a habs game with him, Jim was always ready to have a conversation and share all the knowledge he had accumulated over his many years in education. I could see how happy he made my aunt Cath, and we are forever grateful they got to spend so many happy years together. I will always remember him as the lively , interesting man he was. He will be missed dearly.
Dylan Baker
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Daniel Power posted a condolence
Wednesday, June 30, 2021
We are very saddened by Jim's passing. Distance meant we didn't see each other as often as we might have but he was part of our family, always thoughtful, a welcoming presence when we did find the time. Our deepest condolences.
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Ian Coulter posted a condolence
Tuesday, June 29, 2021
We were truly saddened to hear of the passing of Jim. Our memories go back to a much younger Jim and Jane (and very much younger Kateri, Jennifer and James). In 1970 we moved to Sudbury from New Zealand and became Jim and Janes neighbors in the famous Laurentian Village (famous at least in Sudbury at the time). Sudbury was still very much a mining town with few outside attraction and a very long winter. But it was very multi-cultural and socializing was almost a necessity. At that time few Canadians choose to move to Sudbury and most of us were immigrants. On one infamous occasion, a lawyer in a local court case referred to Sudbury as the armpit of Ontario which sort of summed a lot of the attitudes towards Sudbury (very unfairly of course). The exception to being foreign were the Lanthiers who became our go to persons for everything Canadian. Jim introduced me to ice hockey (the Habs of curse). I never had the courage to tell him I was working for the owner of the Ducks when they won the cup or that I had got to hold the Stanley cup and got a ring.
The counterculture arrived a bit later in Sudbury than elsewhere, but it was very exiting time to be in education and again my go to person at the cutting edge of educational innovation was Jim. In those days Laurentian university was a wonderful university. While Jim technically was not a teacher by then, in my mind he was always a teacher. A gifted and innovative educationalist. After we both moved to Toronto, we continued our friendship until we left for the States. So my poem for Jim would be Oliver Goldsmiths poem “The Village Schoolmaster” a fitting tribute to Jim.
Ian and Adelaide Coulter
“The love he bore to learning was in fault.
The village all declar'd how much he knew;
'Twas certain he could write, and cipher too:
Lands he could measure, terms and tides presage,
And e'en the story ran that he could gauge.
In arguing too, the parson own'd his skill,
For e'en though vanquish'd he could argue still;
While words of learned length and thund'ring sound
Amazed the gazing rustics rang'd around;
And still they gaz'd and still the wonder grew,
That one small head could carry all he knew.
But past is all his fame. The very spot
Where many a time he triumph'd is forgot.”
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bill bartle posted a condolence
Monday, June 28, 2021
Jim's Family: so sorry to hear of Jim's death. He was a patient in our anticoagulant at Sunnybrook for many years and I always found him to be a dignified and interesting gentleman who was passionate about poetry, right to the very end according to his obituary. We both unknowingly, unfortunately, had a St.Catharines connection; I was born and raised there and he taught high school English there. I'm sure that would have lead to a few interesting discussions.
I trust that the many happy memories of Jim's life with you will sustain you through these difficult times.
Bill Bartle
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Philip Lanthier posted a condolence
Monday, June 28, 2021
I'll miss my brother. He was quick and funny and once wrote me a surreal letter which opened with the line "We always go to the A&A [shop in Toronto] and shout but you are never there." It went on with a series of mad, oblique remarks about everything going on in his life. (re. his students: "The bluntest metaphors bounce off them" We used to play daft made-up baseball games when we were very young; they'd go on for days, but the outcome was always fixed. When he got to poetry later in life, he could combine kuala lumpur, chibougamou and caravaggio (no caps) into a single stanza. I think his poetry was a kind of counter-world to his life as an exoert in academic testing. He was a great brother, and I'm sad he's gone. Never thought he would sink into Parkinson's. PJL to JPL: More poery it wlll be.
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Barry Wadman posted a condolence
Sunday, June 27, 2021
My wife and I are truly saddened to hear about Jim's passing and extend our condolences to Cathy and his whole family.
My association with him goes back to the early 1990s at the Mowat Block where we both worked as education officers and, after we retired, to his work with EQAO. I'm eternally grateful for his recommending me to take on his role as the English-language coordinator of quality assurance projects for the administration and scoring of EQAO's province-wide assessments in 2002.
In addition to our professional association, Jim and I enjoyed lunches at Lai Wah Heen (dim sum extraordinaire), Megas on the Danforth (Jim loved the lamb chops) and, before Covid, the cuisine at Lime Asian Kitchen - usually with friend Dale Willoughby. Lunches on the Danforth were invariably preceded by a visit to the nearby Book City where Jim would recommend books that he had either read or was about to buy. Often our lunch conversation focused on his poetry and how a particular theme or poem evolved.
Jim loved tennis but we enjoyed golf with Cathy at courses such as Tam O'Shanter, Humber Valley and Flemingdon Park.
To say that he'll be missed is an understatement - "I shall not look upon his like again."
Barry & Gillian Wadman
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jan coombs posted a condolence
Saturday, June 26, 2021
Mr. Lanthier was my favourite teacher at W. A Porter Collegiate back in the 60's. I remember, for the first time, having class discussions that required us to think deeply about moral decisions in literature, like Man for all Seasons and MacBeth. He involved us in such a way, that we would have to ask ourselves the same questions that the characters faced. It was such an eye opening experience for me. I think he was a great teacher and I will never forget him! I would love to read some of his publications.
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Spencer Lanthier posted a condolence
Saturday, June 26, 2021
Steve and Jennifer: I was saddened to read of Steve's father's passing. I did not know Jim but thanks to your research we are indeed related. When growing up in Montreal, there was only one Lanthier in the 'phone book other than our family and that was Ned Lanthier. My father was Ed who played on the Davis Cup team while Ned was also a strong tennis player. As Steve discovered both branches of the Lanthier clan came from the same male; ours from his first wife; yours from the second wife.
We do indeed live in a small world. Our sincere sympathies on your loss.
Spencer Lanthier
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marla feldman posted a condolence
Saturday, June 26, 2021
I was saddened to hear of Jim's passing. I had been thinking about him lately as our beloved Habs make a run for the cup. Sending warmth and sympathy during this time. May his memory be a blessing. Marla
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The family of Jim Lanthier uploaded a photo
Friday, June 25, 2021
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