The loss of Jim Wright is not going to pass easily, whether in Westmount, his country home in the Laurentians or at McGill. His impact on so many lives will leave an indelible mark and it has been recorded many times over. In addition to the official statement on his passing, which was reproduced in the Examiner last week, Mayor Karin Marks arranged for the City web site to accept messages so that anyone could post a personal tribute. (www.westmount.org). Marks herself wrote the first message, outlining what so many felt about him. “Having had the pleasure and the fun of working with Jim Wright on city council and in other organizations over the last 20 years, I will miss his good sense, his good humour, his boundless good will and his friendship. “It is hard to imagine that we won't see him, above the heads of all others, the most visible person at Family Day, at the Vin d'honneur, the McEntyre awards, and at so many other community activities.” James G.Wright was killed on Saturday, Sept. 1, in an explosion at his country home on Lac des Iles in Entrelacs. A guest, Meriem Maza, an Algerian student on a Sauvé scholarship at McGill, died shortly afterwards and Jim’s wife, Nancy, was severely hurt. Though serious, her injuries are not considered life-threatening. Indeed, friends are hoping that she will be able to leave Sacré Coeur Hospital, where she is being treated, by this weekend. Many Westmounters’ thoughts have turned to the impact of the tragedy on Nancy, Jim’s best friend and wife since 1975. “Jim and Nancy” was a frequently heard phrase around the city. Close friends are waiting to support her when she leaves hospital. Some have flown in from Europe to do so, as well as from other parts of North America. Tree memorial Neighbours on Kensington Avenue have already opened a fund to buy a tree dedicated to Wright. People from all walks of life have been paying tributes to both Jim and Nancy. Although they are linked together in memory, their volunteer work was actually carried out separately. Last year, Nancy was awarded the WMA’s Derek Walker Award for Volunteer Citizen of the Year. The person nominating her could not make the presentation, so organizer Cynthia Campbell called on Nancy's husband. During a typical witty speech, he revealed that they had both judged that year’s entries to the McEntyre Essay Awards for schoolchildren — and it was the first time they had done such a volunteer job together! “I hope we can do it again,” he said. Tributes to Jim Wright in print, on the web, on blogs, by phone and in person have been made since the Labor Day Weekend accident. Former Mayor May Cutler wrote to Nancy Wright after hearing of the tragedy to say that she regarded him as one of the very important people who made Westmount work. “He did so many things and didn’t get enough credit,” she added. “Not many realized how much he had done to make sure Westmount is the cared-for city that it is.” On the McGill University web site home page, principal Heather Munroe-Blum wrote: “We share our grief with all who will miss Jim Wright at the Board of Governors and at Sauvé House, as well as with his former colleagues at Martineau Walker, many of whom were great supporters of his work.” Young people In Westmount, Tom Thompson followed the well-trodden path to Council after three years as WMA president (1989-92). He joined Wright on the Trent council of 1995 and worked with him on Westmount business until the demerger was completed in 2006. He praised Wright’s decision to leave his law practice with Martineau Walker in 1999 to work with young people – first EPOC, a group helping youth find jobs, and, since 2003, as director of the McGill Sauvé Scholars Foundation. “That was quite a move to make after 30 years in a major law firm to go to help others like that,” said Thompson. “He was not afraid of change and to follow through on it.” Jim and Nancy Wright were among those Kathleen Duncan consulted when, after four years as WMA president, she decided to seek a Council seat. “He was supportive and offered lots of advice,” Duncan recalls. “What I thought particularly special, though, was that he realised that I had three children at home, and he was concerned that I should get help to run the household in the event that I was elected. “That was very touching.” Heated agreement A constant theme has been reference to Wright’s sense of humour. This was captured by Hugh Anderson in Monday’s Gazette. Anderson, a former business editor, now writes the seniors’ column. He had been at a volunteer meeting at the McGill University Club, when several members “were working themselves into lather over an issue.” Wright quietly intervened: “I think we are in a heated agreement,” he observed and the dispute faded away. Councillor Nicole Forbes participated in a happy domestic moment. She grew up in the house on Kensington Avenue that the Wrights moved to in the late 1960s. While coordinator of the demerger fight, she visited Jim — an activist for the Yes campaign — and sat in the living room which she recalled from her childhood. Suddenly, she spotted his cell phone, mainly obscured by a cushion. He had lost it two weeks before! “Jim yelled out to Nancy that his phone had been found and they celebrated so joyously,” Forbes recalled. “It was a wonderful moment to see them so happy over a relatively simple thing.” 30-year friends The Wrights made friends wherever they went. Some of them go back decades. Among them are David and Andrée Tait of Willow Avenue They admit to knowing the Wrights for at least 30 years and David was a WMA VP while Wright was president. They also have a home on the same lake. “Jim worked hard to conserving the area,” David told me. “He was chair of the foundation dedicated to preserving it.” There was, of course, a large social circle around it. Residents took it in turns to host church services in their homes on Sundays. The Wright’s tennis court was also used by many neighbours, although Jim did not play this summer because of a back strain, Tait added. There were often Saturday afternoon games, but fortunately none the weekend of the tragedy. Doug and Sally McDougall are other longtime friends of the Wrights. Some years ago, all four went on a holiday in the Bahamas after a silent auction at the Y. Barbecuing was a popular backyard activity for fathers at that time. “I had mastered the technique, so Jim assumed he could do it without a problem,” Doug McDougall recalled. Because we thought there might be difficulties with food on those islands, we had taken lots of special meats and marinades, which ended up being delicious as we embryo chefs grilled them! “Jim was so taken with it, when he got back he went to Hoggs and bought three state-of-the-art grills — for his father, the house at the lake and his backyard. We were continually subjected to his new skills! “His barbecuing was a big joke among friends, but it was typical of his enthusiasm and willingness to master all that came along. “The severe-looking lawyer knew how to enjoy himself, too.” McDougall, who was also a WMA president (1998-2000), had many debates with Wright on local and other political issues. “Like all friends, you can enjoy your differences,” he recalled. “Jim never held a grudge. “He believed in institutions — Council, the WMA, the University Club and so on. He worked to make them strong for the organizations’ sake as well as for what they did. “It is probably why he worked so hard for the demerger. He believed that Westmount was threatened, as were so many of the organizations within it.” Campaign charm One of Jim Wright’s best political friends was his Kensington Avenue neighbour, Vic Drury. “I seem to have known him forever,” was the way he summed up their friendship. “He was very involved in my nomination campaign in 1988 when I ran for the Liberal candidature in Lachine-Lac St Louis on the West Island. Both he and his family members got involved. “I was equally involved in his political career when he ran for Westmount council in 1991! “I fondly remember going door-to-door with him. He was terrific at it. Despite his imposing height, he projected great warmth and made you feel very welcome very quickly. “That great smile of his won doubters over. His manner was always disarming. It stood him in good standing. He put people at ease “He did everything — from cooking a mean hamburger to entertaining people on the street with his sense of humour.” Drury shared many interests with Wright. For instance, their families were long-time members of St. Margaret’s Ski Club. We shared membership in many organizations,” Drury added. “We were related. His mother was Walter Gordon’s sister and my mother was Walter Gordon’s wife’s sister. Our youngest daughters, Melanie Wright and Jessica Drury, are best friends. “We are aghast at what happened! “Jim was extraordinarily involved in the community — he wasn’t an aloof corporate lawyer complaining all the time about the state of things in the world. I admired that in him.” Accommodating Partitionists Herb Bercovitz also served on the first two Trent councils (1991-99) and remembers Jim Wright’s conciliatory skills. “There were many occasions on Council and in groups of citizens when Jim was able to bring about a peaceful solution,” Bercovitz said. “The one that comes most clearly to mind was when the Partitionists, including many from out of town, were due to storm Council demanding that a resolution be passed supporting their thesis that Westmount separate from Québec if Québec separated from Canada. “I was adamant that we not cave in under their pressure and large presence. “It was Jim, prior to the council session, who invited us to his house where, over his kitchen table and under his guidance, a resolution was constructed which affirmed our allegiance to Canada while being apparently acceptable to the vociferous group. “It was his calming presence and quiet logic — he never raised his voice — more than anything else that was his trademark,” Bercovitz remarked. “What I now realize on his passing is that it was not only on Council, but in the various areas in which he worked, that he also performed his magic.” Simpler transition Broadcaster Stuart Robertson was another to recall a long friendship with Wright. @R:“I probably first met him when I joined the WMA and became a director. “Jim later convinced me to run for president as his successor and I took over for a couple of years. Subsequently, he encouraged me to run for Council. “Like many people at the time, Jim felt service on the WMA board was a way of paying your dues,” Robertson added. “By monitoring Council and getting involved in the community, it made the transition simpler.” Like so many others who have paid tribute to Wright since his death, Robertson remembered him for both his profound and lighter sides. “Although he was not the necessarily the most colourful councillor in public, in the private sessions he had a devastating sense of humour – quite droll!” he said. Robertson eventually left Council to join the CBC, but they stayed in touch. “I heard from him on Fridays in my role as traffic reporter on Home Run. He was on his way to Entrelacs by car and he would call up with a traffic report from wherever he was on Autoroute 13 or the 15 going to the country. I’m going to miss those reports.” The Council of 1995 on which Cynthia Lulham and Wright first served together was renowned for its members’ ribbing each other. The unusual height of both Lulham and Wright, particularly beside the diminutive David Laidley, was responsible for much amusement. “If there was a photographer around, Jim and I delighted in standing behind David to get the full effect of the height differences,” she recalled. Lulham was not only one of the youngest people elected to Council, when she won her ward in 1995, she was also very pregnant — another first for Westmount council. The prospect of a baby on Council was generally joyous for all concerned, but it also produced a lot of private merriment. When her “bump” meant she could not reach the microphone, Wright held it for her. Lulham took over Community Services from Wright when she joined Council. “He was a great mentor to me, when I was first elected and learning the ropes. “He was a tower of strength on the various committees which I chaired during the Victoria Hall Renovation Project. “Always pleasant, Jim was a delightful person with a heart of gold — and a good sense of humour.” There is that word again — “humour”; it got the job done for Jim Wright!