Christopher James Chalmers

Jim passed January 30, 2024. He is survived by his beloved wife Dorothy to whom he was married for 63 years. He is also survived by his daughters Barb; Pattie (Evan Kroeker); Carolyn and his granddaughters Amanda Holmes and Claire McNabb. He is also survived by his sister Elaine and her husband Jim Forrest. He was predeceased by his parents Jean and Foster Chalmers.

Jim was born at Winnipeg General Hospital and resided in Winnipeg until 1948 when his father was transferred to The Pas Manitoba. He obtained his formal education at Laura Secord elementary school and The Pas Collegiate Institute. Following high school he enrolled at the University Of New Brunswick School Of Forestry and received his Bachelor of Science degree in 1957.

Upon graduation he was employed by The Ontario Minnesota Paper Company in Kenora, Ontario as a regional forester and continued in this capacity for five years. It is while working in Kenora that he met Dorothy and they were married on June 4, 1960. While with the paper company he gained an intimate awareness of the beauty of the forests and lakes of the Kenora region and continued to spend as much time as work allowed in the region for the rest of his life. In particular the family cottage on an island in Shoal Lake was a much beloved retreat of the family.

In 1961 he decided to further his formal education and he and Dorothy moved to West Lafayette, Indiana where he undertook a Master of Science program at Purdue University. His focus of study was business administration and computer science as well as advanced topics in forestry. In 1962 he obtained his degree and they returned to Kenora. On learning that the Manitoba Forest Service was planning to embark on a computerized system for estimating the Province's forest resource and he was encouraged to apply for a position in the Department of Finance, where the government computer centre was housed, to undertake the programming for this project. Soon after being employed by the Province a reorganization resulted in the creation of the Manitoba Government Computer Centre of which he was appointed director. Later when the Centre was transferred to Management Committee of Cabinet concerns were expressed about the growth of computer installations throughout the public sector and it was questioned whether there might be some form of consolidation to effect greater efficiency and economic benefit. He was then commissioned to head up a study of the issue and to formulate a recommended course of action.

In 1975 legislation was introduced which created a new entity named Manitoba Data Services as subsidiary of the Manitoba Telephone System. Subsequently in 1979 a decision was made to re-establish Manitoba Data Services as separate crown corporation and he was appointed president and general manager. He continued in this capacity for the next 12 years.

Following his retirement in 1992 he and Dorothy travelled widely and enjoyed the opportunity to visit over 50 countries. In addition he was now able to expand on his interest in carpentry by building various pieces of furniture for the family and a major addition to the summer home at Shoal Lake. He also developed an interest in wood carving and this is attested to by the large number of bird carvings that he created.

Funeral Service will take place on Thursday, March 7 at 2:00 pm at Thomson "In the Park" Funeral Home, 1291 McGillivray Blvd.

Jim was also an active member of the Winnipeg Rotary Club for almost 40 years.

In lieu of flowers donations can be made in Jim’s memory to Parkinson’s Canada.