Christopher James Whitelaw Reid: 1952-2005
On January 11th, 2005, Jamie passed away peacefully at his beloved Cabin in the Cove following a courageous battle with cancer.
Born on March 26th, 1952 in Stanley N.B. to Rev. Alex G. Reid and his wife Molly Whitelaw. Jamie is survived by his much-loved wife Judee; his parents; his daughter Lindsay and his son Alexander. Jamie is also remembered by his sister Leslie; brother-in-law Peter; niece Emily and stepchildren Michael, Marshall and Teal.
As a preacher's kid and army brat, Jamie moved frequently as a child, living throughout Canada and Germany. He found his roots and took his higher grades in Moffat, Scotland; completing his BA in Psychology at Queens University in 1975. Jamie returned to the West Coast in the mid seventies where he worked as a Probation Officer for over 25 years until the time of his illness. During his career at the Ministry of Attorney General, Jamie was an active member of the BCGEU. He put great compassion into his profession and deeply cared about helping his clients start anew. He enjoyed anything motorized (on 2 or 4 wheels) and was a proud member of the Blue Knights Motorcycling Club. Jamie loved photography and had a natural eye for finding beauty in the simplest things. Jamie took great joy in cooking and serving those around his table; he was a true culinary master. Published in the Vancouver Sun on 19-Jan-2005.
He was not only active in the BC Government employees union because he cared not only about his clients, and his fellow probation officers, but also the welfare of fellow government workers. . Many PO’s remember him as the Union Rep who came to the Justice Institute and spoke to the graduating class of probation officers about their rights under the collective agreement. Jamie was interested in furthering the professional standing of his fellow probation officers. He believed in the value of his work. He served on the executive of the British Columbia Probation officer’s Association from it’s founding. Jamie was an encourager: he had a way of making others feel appreciated and important. A good glimpse into his character is what Jamie Reid wrote in the BCPOA Website Guestbook:
Name: Jamie Reid
Where are you from? Vancouver Island-Duncan, Vancouver-Northeast and West, N Fraser-Burnaby, Willingdon, New West.
What Profession are you? Probation, Parole Officer, Conditional Sentence & Bail Supervisor, generically trained and practiced in Juvenile and Family matters.
DATE: Sun Aug 22, 2004
Comments:
Bravo! Probation Officers have always presented complicated information in a straightforward and easily understood fashion. The BCPOA Website is a wonderful and important exemplar of such collective skills. We continue to organize ourselves with the very highest of standards as our normative standards. We deliver to British Columbians a world class model of service we all can only hope to perpetuate. Our recent conciliative posture towards our employer calls for ongoing support for us to do what we do best: thoughtfully service the public with the highest standards achievable, from wherever they may have originated. Good ideas transcend ownership. Bravo once again to the tremendous extra work which shows herein this organ; once the newsletter, now the website of the BCPOA. Bravo as well to the Executive, each with extraordinary skills which could benefit anyone of many organizations. Lest we forget, here's to the members and associate members for keeping the idea of such an organization alive.
Jamie loved cooking, photography, and his motorcycle: in that order. He will be greatly missed. On 23-Feb-05, a group of his colleagues from the greater Vancouver area gathered at the Burnaby Rugby Club to reminisce and share stories about Jamie. His former Supervisor, Dave Buckley told some humorous stories about his work at the Vancouver East office. His friend and Colleague Don Hermansen also had words to say. Jamie lived in Don’s home for a while. Jamie loved "fast food, fast cars and fast women", (not necessarily in that order) but he really changed when he met Judee and she became the light of his life.
Monica Matsi, an Adult Probation Officer from Tri-Cities, got up to applaud Jamie for encouraging her to become a probation officer in 1985 and then and mentoring her. He was a wealth of knowledge and a great encouragement to her.
Memories of Jamie:
Jamie wore his Kilt to the Long Term Government Employees service Awards, October 2003.
The BCPOA will give a prize to anyone who can identify all these old timers. Jamie is in the back third from the right
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The BCPOA is raising funds to assist the family to purchase and place a park bench along the seawall facing the Juan de Fuca sound, on a path where Jamie used to love to walk. The site is in Esquimalt at Fleming Park, where there is a boat launch and a very small park called Buxton Green. Buxton Green is fairly new and is not marked on maps but Fleming Park is. There is a small lagoon there overlooking a breakwater and thence out to sea. A path winds up to the lookout where there are old ramparts of gun emplacements from WW II. Jamie used to play in that area when he grew up with his family on Clent St. in the DND housing area. The bench is placed about 2/3 of the way along the path leading to the ramparts. It is backed by a rocky outcropping and looks over Buxton green and the breakwater. The site faces the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Olympic Mountains. |
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The total cost of the bench will be approximately $2,000.00.
We encourage fellow probation officers to contribute to this worthy memorial for a man who did so much to further the prestige of our profession. Donations may be sent to:
The British Columbia Probation Officer's Association
Jamie Reid Memorial Fund
#16-46689 First Ave.
Chilliwack, BC V2P 1X5
Good bye, Jamie: We will miss you!
