James "Jim" Cartlidge

He was preceded by his wife Madeline and second wife Elaine. He leaves behind his children Lorraine (John) Klassen, James (Shirley) Cartlidge, Marilyn (Gary) Paterson, William, Colleen (Mike) Smith and Robert (Shirley) Cartlidge; step children Shawna (Bruce) Cook and Duane Cook; grandchildren Michelle Baisinger, Sheena (Mark) Porco, Sam (Sandra) Paterson, Heather, Andrew and Austin Smith, Dana and Laura Cartlidge, Natalie and Sean Cook, Tamara and Tiffany Cook; and great grandchildren Scarlett Paterson and Emma Cook. He is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews.

Laughter played an important role during his life. He had a terrific sense of humour and charmed everyone he met. We never had to look for Dad, all we had to do was just wait for him to laugh and we knew where he was. When it came to chores he always told us that was what he had 6 children for, followed by a great deal of laughter. He enjoyed life to the fullest with his family and friends. He had a terrific sense of humour and very charismatic.

He was a great sport enthusiast. When he was younger, he spent a lot of time at Rossmere Golf and Country Club both golfing and curling. He was president of Rossmere 4 times and was responsible for the building of the curling rink. He also was a member of the St. Charles Golf Club where he shot 2 holes- in-one. He was a fan of the Blue Bombers and a season ticket holder right up until his passing. He did not attend the games in the last year but he watched every one of them on TV. He watched most sports in his later years on TV and he was so intent on the game he rarely spoke until there was a break in the game.

He had a passion for horse racing and with his friends he created Century stables with a fairly large number of horses. During that time he became president of the HBPA (Horsemen’s Benevolent Protective Association) and led the first strike of the horse owners. He gave up ownership of Century Stables and became involved with the Manitoba Thoroughbred Breeders Association where he also became President. One of his proudest moments was when he was honoured by the HBPA by being named as Racing's Man of the Year. He then was appointed to the Racing Commission and later became chairman. After he completed his term with the Racing Commission he created the Rotary Stables with Jim Wright and Norm Coghlan and again they owned a fairly large stable. He remained active with Rotary Stables until 3 years ago.

He was also very active in Winnipeg's business community. Mr. Cartlidge was the first chairman of the then newly formed Winnipeg Economic Development Board. The Board’s main purpose was to encourage and to attract new business to Winnipeg and equally important to encourage business and industries already established in Winnipeg to expand in Winnipeg rather than expanding elsewhere. After that he became President of the Chamber of Commerce. While in this position he stressed that the Chamber was not just business orientated but they also ran 17 committees dealing with wider community issues ranging from agriculture to civic affairs. Jim was also the past president of Winnipeg Rotary and the Winnipeg Executives Association. One of Jim's favourite endeavours was his creation of the Manitoba Marketing Network which was a mentoring program for young business owners.

In addition to all these activities he successfully ran two companies. Fleming Pedlar Limited, a refrigeration and air conditioning contractor, and Coldstream Products of Canada Ltd., manufacturers of a wide variety of refrigeration and insulation products. Fleming Pedlar employed 200 people and Coldstream 200 people. Coldstream sold its products on a national and international basis. He organized the companies in a manner that allowed him to successfully oversee both companies and gave him the time to do the community service work.

Jim quit school at the age of 15 to help support his family. His first job was as an oiler in the engine room at of the Manitoba Cold Storage plant and laughingly said that was his start in the refrigeration business. When the war started he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force where he earned his Officers Commission. His interest in flying continued and he obtained his pilot’s license and purchased his own plane.

He loved to play cards and was perfectly capable of winning, right up to the end. Once he obtained his computer, he discovered Free Cell and many a time we would find him glued to the screen and not prepared to quit until he won.

Jim was an amazing man and led an amazing life. He will be missed.

His funeral service will be held on Monday, June 13, 2016 at 2:00 pm at St. Mary Magdalene Anglican Church, 3 St. Vital Road. A reception will be held in the Church hall.

Donations can be made to a charity of your choice.