OMAND, James Magnus Christopher (“Jim”) -
Born January 10, 1939 in Bushey, Hertfordshire, England.
Died October 19, 2023 in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada.
Visitation and Celebration of Life: Friday, October 27, 2023 from 11 a.m.
Having fought a long courageous battle with pulmonary fibrosis (among other long term conditions), Jim, aged 84, passed away peacefully on Thursday, October 19, 2023, at Lakeridge Hospital in Bowmanville, Ontario with his children by his side.
Jim is survived by his children, Ian Christopher Jamieson Omand (Veniece), Jennifer (Jenny) Margaret Louise Omand, James Manson Newton Omand (Teresa).
Caring grandfather to the late Kyle Christopher Omand, Jason Nicholas Omand, Damon Marcus Omand and Joshua James Evan Omand.
Loving brother to Alistair (Al) Ian Omand. Loyal husband to second wife Irma Angella Samuel.
Proud uncle to Keith Omand (Georgiann), Jill Omand (the late Greg Stephens) and Alison Shefferly (Robert), 7 great nieces and nephews, and 10 great great nieces and nephews.
Jim was preceded in death by his parents, John Maurice William Omand and Miriam Louise Omand (nee Kilroy), and by his adored late wife and the mother of his children, Ann Elizabeth Omand (nee Weldon) to whom he was married for 49 years before her untimely passing in 2013.
Jim’s family will be speaking in lieu of a formal service and food will be served shortly thereafter.
Should you wish to make a donation in his memory, Jim’s family has suggested the following charities:
Canadian Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation - https://www.lung.ca/donate Asthma + Lung UK - https://action.asthmaandlung.org.uk
Jim was born on January 10, 1939 in Bushey, Hertfordshire, England and lived his formative years in north and west London.
During his early years, he moved and was schooled all around the country in efforts to avoid the Blitz.
As a teenager, he visited his older brother Al who had immigrated to Canada and Jim subsequently decided to emigrate from England to Canada himself and study his Chartered Accountancy in Ontario.
It was during that time he met and fell in love with Ann. Before he finished his Chartered Accountancy studies, Jim decided he didn’t want to leave the shores of his motherland after all, so it was Ann’s turn to emigrate from Canada to England where they were married.
Jim worked in finance for General Motors, and subsequently as Finance Director for Hobourn Eaton, a company that manufactured automobile oil pumps and power steering pumps.
Over time, Jim and his fellow directors became aware that the company lacked business foresight and in the mid-1980s, 4 of the company directors including Jim, bought the company out. By 1989, they sold the company to a larger auto parts company.
At the age of 50, Jim pronounced his retirement.
Which lasted all of 5 minutes as sitting still was just not in his genes. He formed his own financial consultancy business, calling himself a “business angel”, and got involved with a set of affiliated businesses in the emerging “internet for business” sector. This turned out to be yet another “right place, right time” decision, as the sector blew up beyond imagination and another profitable buy out was achieved.
Jim continued advising and investing in small companies around the UK for a few more years and sometime around 1998, Jim and Ann decided to move to the Costa Brava in Spain, an area they had known for quite some years since Jim had business interests in Barcelona during his Hobourn Eaton days.
They bought a house on a hill with a beautiful view of the Mediterranean and enjoyed the warm air and blue skies.
Jim enjoyed a lifelong hobby of sailing. He and Ann would charter boats and sail with friends for some years before Jim decided to purchase his own sailing yacht. He sailed across the Atlantic several times as part of the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (the ARC).
Jim loved the open blue water. Jim and Ann spent many months of each year sailing in the Caribbean and ultimately fell in love with Antigua, where they purchased a small villa in the early 2000s. Jim all but fully retired around this time and he and Ann started spending their winters in Antigua and their summers in Spain.
Having built their own house in Antigua in 2009, Jim and Ann applied for Antiguan citizenship. Sadly, Ann passed away shortly before hers was granted. Jim however was extremely proud to become a bonafide Antiguan in 2014.
After Ann’s passing in 2013, Jim continued to work on property projects in Antigua, which led to meeting his second wife, Irma. They were married in November 2017. Jim built himself a new house and enjoyed his time with Irma there.
Jim was a dedicated and committed member of the Jolly Harbour community in Antigua where he lived for so many years.
He was an active contributor to the residents’ associations and a keen advocate for all the residents. He enjoyed the music, he loved to dance. A fan of fine dining, there are few restaurants and resorts whose fayre he had not tried. He was the consummate host who loved a good party.
Starting on his 60th birthday, he decided that his “zero” birthdays in January would be celebrated in the Caribbean and that, given how far people had to fly to attend, he organized a whole week of festivities on each occasion. His 60th, 70th and 80th parties were fabulous.
The last couple of years of Jim’s life were challenging. His lung disease progressively made breathing harder, which made any activity difficult. He made valiant efforts to get his 10,000 daily steps in! He ultimately became too breathless to move around much.
Jim would have some bad days followed by good days. On the latter, it was hard to believe that he was as ill as he was as his humorous and happier sides would blossom.
Jim was a smart, proud, firm but fair, hard working, courageous, charming, faithful, popular, and respected member of his chosen communities. He will be missed by all his family and friends in each of the countries he called home at various points in his life.
Arrangements entrusted with armstrongfh.ca .
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