April 10 1951 - February 18 2010

Jim was the beloved husband of Debbie. He was a loving father and father-in-law to Scott and Natalie, Guy and Esther, Corey and Karen, Wade and Samantha, and Amanda and Shane, and a devoted grandfather to Matthew, Moewaka, Braiden, Malachi, Ainsley, Owen, Caelyn and Mackenzie.

Jim was born at Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney on April 10, 1951. He was the eldest of seven children to Doug (deceased) and Norma Hawkes.

When Jim was born he was a very sick baby and needed an immediate operation to save his life.

The priest was called in to baptise him just in case, but Jim’s fighting spirit, even at such a tender age, meant he beat the odds and recovered. He went on to lead a full and happy life.

As a youngster Jim grew up on properties in the Central and Far West of NSW. In between going to school Jim rounded up and milked cows, chopped wood and helped look after his younger siblings, tucking in shirts and making sure everyone was okay.

Jim did not have an easy early life. He left school at 14 and worked in various jobs such as droving, as a builder’s labourer, farm worker and stockman, as well as chopping wood and sweeping floors.

He was also a strapper at a horse stable and a talented and naturally gifted horseman and track rider.

He could leap on a 17-hand thoroughbred from a standing start. Jim’s selfless attitude helped support his brothers and sisters.

For hobbies, Jim was a pigeon fancier. He was also an exceptional artist, emu egg carver and a poet.

Jim left Warren for the big smoke and worked as a track rider at Warwick Farm.

He later met and married his beautiful wife Debbie and together they raised five wonderful children. According to Jim, Debbie, his ‘Dear Heart’, was the making of him.

Jim worked in the building trade. He was a scaffolder and hoist driver at the big building sites throughout Sydney and more recently worked in traffic control.

He had a passionate interest in the Builders Labourers Federation and along with his mates of the time took great delight in marching and campaigning for the cause.

When on early family holidays, Jim and Deb’s children all fondly recall the ‘Jimmy Bus Trips’ back to the bush.

On one occasion during an eight-hour pilgrimage to Warren in the middle of winter, the five kids remember freezing in the back seats, despite their designer, hand-crocheted blankets made by Mum.

Dad was oblivious as he smoked in the front with the window wound all the way down.

Jim was a very good bush mechanic, a talent his four sons failed to inherit, despite hours spent with Dad pumping the brake pedal and passing the spanners.

Wife Deb also failed to master the art of filling the radiator, however after years of Jim’s patient training she can now drive a manual with only two feet.

Jim taught the boys important life skills such as greeting irate parents at the door, dealing with emergencies such as stabbings, fires and anaphylactic shock, as well as how to extract keys accidentally locked in the car boot and the correct way of cleaning the dog’s dish.

Jim enjoyed listening to his favourite band The Seekers; everything else was considered “Heavy Mental”.

Jim gave special meaning to the terms ‘road rage’ and ‘political incorrectness’.

He enjoyed two beers or three - never one, because one was a tease, while he sat out the back with dog Bindy the beagle (when she wasn’t busy eating the cars).

Jim was an extremely proud man. He was rich beyond compare in ‘Poor Man’s Wealth’ - the love, support and strength of his family. He set and enforced exceedingly high moral and ethical standards for his children, as his boys can attest.

He was extremely proud of all of them, and his youngest child ‘Blossom’, of course could do no wrong.

Although Jim tried to project a tough, grumpy exterior, inside he was kind, considerate, dependable, hard-working, honest and straight-shooting, a fixer of all things, and most of all a loving husband, father, poppy and friend. In return all his family adored him and loved him to bits.

Although Jim’s untimely passing is heartbreaking for us all, as we take him to his rest, we know his journey in this life is done and his new one has now begun.

Farewell Jim and until we meet again, “Leave the Light on for Me”.

Eulogy written and read by Jim’s family members at his funeral at Camden on February 26.