James Lawrence Karpluk

With great sadness, we announce the passing of James Lawrence Karpluk of Lloydminster, Alberta. Jim passed away peacefully, surrounded by family, at the Jasper Hospital on Tuesday, May 6th, 2025, at the age of 84.

Jim leaves behind his former wife and friend Dale Karpluk, his children Ryan Karpluk (Ginny Copeland) and Erin Karpluk, and his granddaughters Leah Karpluk and Hailey Karpluk. He is also survived by his sister, Helen Specht; brother, Dennis Karpluk (Barb Karpluk); and sisters-in-law, Merla Coppock and Connie McCulloch, as well as numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews.

Jim was born in Lashburn, Saskatchewan, on December 20, 1940, to Irene and John Karpluk. He was predeceased by his parents and siblings, Anne Smith, Wally Dyk, Al Karpluk, and Johnny Karpluk. He attended school in Highgate, Waseca, Battleford, and Maidstone. After a short stint with Saskatchewan Wheat Pool, Jim hired on with CN Rail to commence a 35-year career riding the rails, primarily as an engineer. Like so many Karpluks, Jim was a railroad buff, and he truly loved his work.

 After retirement, Jim split his time between his condo in Lloydminster and his special place, the 100-year-old section house in Waseca, where he grew up. Sitting on  22 acres of prairie land known as ‘The Lazy J’ (complete with an outdoor biffy) and appropriately located on Karpluk Avenue, it had everything he loved. He took pride in his garden, was a birder, and enjoyed befriending the stray cats that would come to visit him; his last one he named ’ Stupid’ ( does that sound like Jim?)  Waseca might be small, but the friends and neighbours Jim had were always there for a visit and to give him a hand when he needed it.

Jim was an excellent athlete in his younger days; he played ball, hockey, and curled. He loved to fish and had many favorite fishing holes around Jasper. He was the family wildlife and science expert, and you could ask him anything; 9/10 times, he would have the answer. He loved science, history, and nature TV shows, and watching news and sports. He was a die-hard Saskatchewan Roughrider fan. Go Riders! He loved to play crib and Rummikub and enjoyed our nightly games played with Oksana, our Ukrainian homestay, who Jim fussed over like a mother hen. Oksana came from the same area in Ukraine as Jim’s parents did near Lviv. Jim also liked to pick berries and had several favorite berry-picking spots he would frequent. Not that he cooked fancy meals, but he did like to cook and had his staples: doctored- up chicken noodle soup with rice, veggies, and parsley; a soft spot for fresh asparagus; and a love for fast food burgers- especially if they were on special, when he would stockpile a few in the fridge for later. One of his favorite meals was Ukrainian food on Christmas Eve. He loved cabbage rolls and perogies. En route to Jasper at Christmas, Jim would go to Stawnichy's Mundare Sausage and stock up the family freezer for the winter! He enjoyed reading the shopping flyers and making a list of what to buy, and he loved a bargain. He was generous to a fault. If a case of soup was on special, he would buy one for himself and a few for the rest of us. If he found a good kitchen appliance or tool kit, you could be sure there would be three in the closet waiting to give to someone.

Jim and Dale built a home and raised their two children in Jasper. He put a lot of labour and love into building the current family home. Tradesmen who have worked on the house through the years say Jim built it as solid as the Rock of Gibraltar. There were many fun dinners,  picnics, weiner roasts, and birthday parties, with family and friends through the years. It was through the annual Family Reunions and Family Thanksgivings that Jim stayed connected to his many nieces and nephews and their extended families.  Jim volunteered for the Jasper curling club back in the day, during the popular Jasper Rodeo dances when he managed the bar. Volunteering for Ryan and Erin’s sports and school activities and taking them to hockey and ringette camps as they were growing up was top of Jim’s list, and he was their best fan. Jim did some family traveling to Europe, England,  Hawaii, Disneyland, LA,  Arizona, Mexico, Montreal, Vancouver Island, and to see family in Kamloops, on the coast, and at the Loon Lake cottage, ‘Jumbo View.’.

Jim was always ready to share railroad stories with Ryan, who followed in his dad’s footsteps to become a CN engineer. Their work bond was very special. Jim also passed on his love of fishing to Ryan, who took our family down the Maligne a few times, and on one of these trips, Jim said it was one of the best days of his life. He could also talk shop with Ryan’s partner,  Ginny, who is also a CN  engineer, which kindled a special relationship. Jim even started to enjoy the healthy smoothies she insisted he drink for good health- miracles do happen.  When Ryan and Ginny built their modular house, he travelled to be in Jasper the day the house was delivered to see the sections lifted into place. Watching Ryan build his own home, and family was a highlight of Jim’s last years.

Jim supported  Erin’s career in acting with immense pride- he moved her to UVIC to begin a theatre degree, attended her performance as Ophelia in Hamlet in Victoria, and in later years attended award shows (accidentally stealing George Stroumboulopoulos’ seat at the Geminis, which George took in stride). Jim visited Erin on set while “Being Erica” was filmed in Toronto, and while most people would stay for an hour, he stayed the entire day. He patiently recorded every episode of Being Erica on VHS- without commercials!  Erin took him to events in Toronto where he enjoyed meeting Don Cherry and Ron MacLean at ‘Hockey Night in Canada.’  She tried to impress her Dad with a fancy meal at the revolving restaurant at the top of the CN Tower and laughed when leaving, as Jim saw a hot-dog vendor and told her he enjoyed the gourmet meal, but he would just as soon have had a hot-dog.  Jim visited Erin’s home in LA, where she gave him the Hollywood tour, and he got to see trivia about his favorite actor, Clint Eastwood. Jim watched every  ‘Duster’ ever filmed and knew most of them by heart.  He also supported Erin when she was into running by going to Saskatoon for the triathlon, to Mount Robson for the half marathon, and to Hawaii for an Ironman 70.3.

Two of Jim’s greatest joys were  Leah (4)  and Hailey (2), his precious granddaughters, who kept him royally entertained and were the apple of his eye. Their videos and pictures, while he was in the hospital, brightened his days. He enjoyed playing catch with them, listening to their chatter, and even hiding their easter eggs. He would wag his crooked finger at them when he thought they needed Grampa’s advice.

Jim’s family came first. He liked buying lottery tickets, hoping he would one day make us rich and would remind us to go get a ticket when the pot was big. Wally started buying Ryan and Erin Royal Canadian Mint coin sets when they were little, and Jim took over and continued to give these as Christmas gifts through the years. And again, if it was a special coin, why just buy one? When it was time to change the clocks, Jim would give us all a heads up so no one would be late for work. Every year, he would also remind us to get our new vehicle registrations on time.

Family and friends have been reaching out with support and all kinds of remembrances of Jim and sharing special memories, which have been very much appreciated by our family. We acknowledge the exceptional care Jim had in the Misericordia Hospital in Edmonton in the ICU for six weeks before Christmas and thank Ross and Joyce Anderson for giving us a home while we visited Jim in the hospital during this time. We also appreciate the dedication, professional care and kindness Jim received when he was repatriated to the Jasper Seton General Hospital before Christmas. All the staff, including the home care staff, were wonderful. Jim celebrated his 84th birthday in the hospital, and two of the nurses even entertained him by playing Happy Birthday on their harmonicas. We especially thank Jim’s doctor, Dr. Lacoursiere, for all he did for Jim. Jim had survived several critical health scares over the past years, including a serious car accident, so we are so thankful his last four months were home in Jasper, pain-free, living in the house he built, surrounded by family and friends. He was cheering on the Oilers (even though Winnipeg was his favorite team), filling the hummingbird feeder and watching the bird activity…and even went to vote.

Jim will live on through his family and friends, and we will honour him by living our lives to the fullest.

Jim was cremated, and his wish was to have his ashes spread in the field by his home in Waseca. There is no formal service planned, but we know there will be many times in the future when we share stories about Jim and toast a good man.

A Celebration of Life will be held in the Fall.

THE TRAIN

At birth we boarded the train and met our parents,

and we believe they will always travel on our side.

As time goes by, other people will board the train;

and they will be significant i.e. our siblings, friends, children,

and even the love of your life.

However, at some station our parents will step down from the train,

leaving us on this journey alone.

Others will step down and leave a permanent vacuum.

Some, however, will go so unnoticed that we

don’t realize they vacated their seats.

This train ride will be full of joy, sorrow, fantasy,

expectations, hellos, goodbyes, and farewells.

Success consists of having a good relationship with all passengers,

requiring that we give the best of ourselves.

The mystery to everyone is: We do not know at

which station we ourselves will step down.

So, we must live in the best way,

love, forgive, and offer the best of who we are.

It is important to do this because when the time comes for us to step down and

Leave our seat empty, we should leave behind beautiful memories

for those who will continue to travel on the train of life.

I wish you a joyful Journey.