Fonds RC0945 - James “Jim” Lord fonds

James A. “Jim” Lord was born in Dublin in 1914, the fifth of seven children. His father, also James, was an accountant and his mother was a dressmaker. The family immigrated to Canada in 1921, first to Flamborough, then to Hamilton (Herkimer St.). In Hamilton, James Sr. died in 1924 when Jim was ten. At the age of sixteen, Jim left school to help the family, working at Wright’s Hardware on James North, then at Stelco.

With rumblings of war growing louder, Jim took night classes on the theory of electrical equipment. He met Elsie Grace Manewell at All Saints Anglican church, and they were married on 10 April 1942, just before Jim enlisted with the RCAF. His night class preparations made him a prime candidate for the role of radar technician. He completed training in the US and Canada before being sent overseas. He spent the majority of the war in Wick, Scotland at one of the radar stations there. These sites monitored for incoming bombing runs.

After returning home in November 1945, he returned to his job at Stelco. He and Elsie had three children: Jack, Bill, and Bob. Despite leaving school early, his passion for learning continued throughout his life. He finished his high school degree through correspondence, which he’d begun while overseas, and became an accountant in 1950. He worked for General Smelting, later moving into purchasing and personnel, until his retirement in 1979. He earned a scholar of theology diploma by correspondence from England, and in 1960, he was ordained as an Anglican deacon. He volunteered with St. Mark’s in downtown Hamilton and St. Margaret’s. After he retired, he attended McMaster University, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1983 and an M.A. at the age of 70 (see his M.A. thesis here). In addition to academic writing, he wrote and published an epic poem in honour of Terry Fox, “The Song of Alopeix.”

Lord had a great love of the outdoors and would often go on long walks and hiking trips with his dog. He died of heart disease at the age of 86.