When people pass away, the one word that always appears in a sense of importance is Legacy. When we talk about legacy, many folks touch on what people did, often for occupation or what their successes were, both personal and professional, or how they shared time with their loved ones, and why and all of that is valid and worth acknowledgement. However, when we are not just talking about legacy, but actually feeling it in our hearts about a particular person, there is one enduring intangible quality which supersedes all else, a knowledge that sometimes comes without explanation, that describes a loved one and how they have chosen, both consciously and unconsciously,  which has nurtured and enriched with complete absence of malice, prejudice, vengeance, spite, or ego. It's the eternal title earned by only the very best which the universe has to offer the world in humanity, and that is the undisputed truth of reverence in which a person is known FIRST as a genuinely good person. When people say that FIRST about you, there is no higher honour to be bestowed with, nor is there a greater testament to the heart, thought, and care that has been put into one's work. Jack Rumsey is the ultimate encyclopaedic example of a human being, in both the chosen purposeful act, and the inexplicable true genetic instinct, who was a genuinely good person in everything he did.

Born April 13, 1936 at home in the rural southwest corner of Alberta, to mother Elizabeth (Dyer), who'd immigrated to Canada in 1927 from the village of Colerne, just east of the city of Bath in southwest England, and his father Clinton Rumsey, who's ancestral parentage had immigrated to Pennsylvania of the the British Colonies in the early 1700s, and Upper & Lower Canada (now Ontario & Quebec, Canada) in the mid 1800s, and was comprised of English, Irish, and Swiss-German Mennonite ethnicity, Jack demonstrated a clear and dedicated work ethic right from the get-go, both on the farm as he performed his chores such as haying and many hours at the sawmill his dad built, and at school, where he was a consistent honours student. Because some people still here with us today knew him as a teen, but don't know why he values and believed what he did, it had to have been as a youth, before anyone alive today knew Jack, that his life of believing in the value of doing good began, which is unfortunately for reasons that are lost to time. I often find myself asking the question, "How did he become such a good-natured human who believed that doing what he did was the right way to live?". There was this kind of 'code' that he has seemingly always lived by, as far as we know, and one that he has never veered from. The Jack Rumsey people describe from 65-70 years ago is the same Jack Rumsey I visited a month before his passing on a vacation from Niagara. Of course, age catches up to everyone in a physical sense, hence the classic Rumsey bald spot and swear-inducing arthritis, but this man who genuinely had goodness in his heart, was as here in the moment of his passing as he was any day of his 85 years. Most people have to learn values such as empathy, care, integrity, selflessness, and honesty, but the expertise and ease at which Jack privileged people with them, even at a young age, suggests that he was born with a kind of genius ability in his DNA to simply do. And even though he freely blessed this world with his gift, he never postured himself in a manner which obliged us to thank him as a deity doing us a grand favour, but that was a very important component of Jack's existence, the humble and grateful opportunity to be alive and share with others, and the simple joy in witnessing others grow and succeed, as a shared experience.

I was asking Jack's wife, my Gramma Shirley, the other night, "What was it about Jack that made you fall in love with him?". She replied with the kinds of compliments of memory which I think we can all relate to in why we loved him. Gramma talked about how kind, friendly, gentle, and funny he was when she met him at that dance in Beaver Mines in 1956, and how impressed she was with Jack's sense of responsibility, These are the same things that people I've never even met who only knew Jack for a short time or only met him once describe him as. And I'm not kidding - I have friends who have only met Jack one single time in their life, and nearly every time I hang out with them since, they've asked me about my "cool" Grandpa, reminisce about that one moment, and tell me to say hi to Jack for them. It's like he was a rock star, but in many ways he was and still is! You want to go out and get the mail with Jack in HIS town? You'd better have an hour, to wonder in amazement as the lineup of admirers young and old wait their turn to say "Hi Jack!" and then spend the next 5 or 10 minutes each, glowing at him in humble reverence. 

My Gramma sharing in admiration for Jack was the ultimate in importance, though, as she was the person he chose to marry and spend the rest of his life with, a union which allowed us to all have this experience together today. Two stories come to mind that perfectly sum up the why and how of the love of the two most important people in this room, and my two favourite people in the world. One spring after a long, cold winter, Jack wanted to see Shirley, so he skied the 10 or so miles from his family farm, over the giant drifts of snow to the Wakaluk farm where Shirley lived with her parents and siblings. All to share a few hours of time with his babe, motivated by his love for Shirley. And then, a year and a half after they were married, on December 25, 1959, the day my mother was born, Jack drove from Pincher Creek all the way out to the Wakaluks to tell them that the first born of their daughter Shirley had come into this world on that Christmas Day. That's the kind of commitment and respect which is as much of Jack as his name, his (then) jet black hair, and makes our self-obligated desire and need to respect him a pleasure.

I'm not here to say that life with Jack Rumsey was always bliss, though, because it wasn't. And that's not a knock on him, it's an acknowledgement of Jack as a human being with sensitivities and buttons to push just like us - something who each of his three children (Bev, Sue, & Rob), two grandchildren (Stacy & myself), great-grandchildren, in-laws, and other relatives can attest to. Jack came from that stiff upper lip, get-on-with-it Protestant English upbringing, where he could be stubborn, short, frustrated, and huffy. This is common in people who are dedicated, determined, focused, and expect a great deal from themselves and prize respect. But as much as he could be the aforementioned, Jack was also patient, soft, sensitive, and warm. This is where I believe, as much as we get things very easily right about Jack, there is something that people get very wrong. To many Jack is seen as a person who didn't show his feelings much, but this couldn't be further from the truth. Sure, he was not one to initiate conversation about how he was feeling, but this man was the most honest person I have ever known, and that honesty was not much more apparent than in his very expressive tone and non-verbal communication. He was very easy to read and understand, even for an Autistic person like me who often has a difficult time decoding facial expressions and gestures. For those who took the time to watch his mannerisms and then ask him direct questions that went below the surface, there was a lot of information about his thoughts and feelings that he was glad to share. Unfortunately, there remains a number of folks who didn't do this work, and judge Jack in a way which is incorrect. If you paid attention, you knew very quickly if Jack was happy, sad, hurting, focused, frustrated, proud, and definitely peeved off! And when you paid attention to this man, you got to know the idiosyncrasies that were very 'just Jack'. As much as he was the very relatable everyman Jack-of-all-trades, he was a unique and particular individual in many ways. Some might now know that when he would eat soup, he'd eat all of the vegetables and meat first, and then the broth, and in front of his bowl he'd line up two perfectly organised rows of crackers, each with an identical amount of margarine and cheese, which were eaten one by one, row by row.  If he ate a meal at home with rice, his ritual was to take the leftover rice from the fridge, add cream, and make his own version of rice pudding to enjoy. He even went so far in uniqueness as to carry his own toothpick wherever he went, and ended up buying a plastic one that he carried in his wallet, which he would bring out to use after eating, wherever he might be. Many a time I've been at a restaurant with him, and before I could call on a server to ask for a toothpick of my own, there would be my Grandpa, with his personal one already molar deep, winking at me like the cheeky jokester only he could be. But that's him, always prepared and smart as a whip. All of those days skiing through blizzards to be the only student in attendance sometimes at that one room schoolhouse paid off so much in his life. And they paid off for others too. Through Jack's personal and professional life, his urge to help others was unmatched in his community. As much as he did, he taught, whether it was at work, at bowling, at camping, at swimming, and many other things he enjoyed, Jack loved sharing that experience of learning and success with others. This extended to people in very unexpected circumstances, such as the time he taught a border at the house from India who didn't know how to eat pancakes which condiments to put on them and how to use a knife and fork. That right there is classic, classy Jack Rumsey, "Okay, let's give this another shot. Let me explain it to you one more time." As patient and caring about your success and enjoyment as another human being could be. And he cared about people he didn't even know. Back when his children were young, Jack used to bring home old tractor tires from the Shell plant where he worked, fill up the inner tubes, tie a rope around them for easy transport up the hill, and give these tires to the neighbourhood kids to have fun with in the winter, sometimes up to 8 at a time on each tube. Jack didn't know all of those kids, but he knew what it felt like to have fun and enjoy life, and he wanted to share that with as many people as possible. Unfortunately, this sometimes came at his own expense. Jack worked long hours into his mid-80s to provide for others, but he had regret for always working and not having more fun himself. As someone who is Neurodivergent, both Autistic and having Mental Illness, I often feel guilt for needing financial help and being one of the reasons my Grandpa chose to work so hard for so long into retirement age when he could have been enjoying a life of leisure, and that is partly why honouring him in this way is so important and very necessary to me. He provided so many people in our family with opportunities we never would have had otherwise, whether it was financial, or taking us around western North America on countless and very educational camping trips. And I am very grateful to have been blessed with the opportunity I still enjoy today and into the future because of the existence of Jack Rumsey. 

It's with a heavy heart for the entire community of Pincher Creek and southwest Alberta that I share with all of you in saying goodbye to Jack Rumsey, someone so many of us know as a wonderful, beautiful, husband/father/grandfather/great-grandfather/friend/relative/colleague, our family's enduring rock of love, encouragement, and support, who passed away peacefully at home on Thursday October 28, 2021 at age 85. Everyone who ever met and/or had the extreme privilege of pleasure to share time with Jack has a different story to share, and all with the utmost of esteem reverence and respect. Whether you grew up with him or his extended family, bowled alongside or were coached by him at the many tournaments and meets with the Master Bowlers Association, shared time camping and playing cards with him as part of the Good Sams, worked with him at Morgan's/the old CO-OP on Main Street/the Waterton Shell plant, took CPR/Lifesaving courses he taught, was his customer or recipient of a trophy/medal/award of his shop Badger Engraving, were a business he was a customer/client of, and/or one of the thousands of people who stopped to chat with and hear that famous laugh of his while out and about, you know that he was and will remain one of the most respected people his community has and will ever know. 

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