Jim (James Frederick) Unger, born January 21, 1937, passed away suddenly in Victoria, B.C. on Saturday, May 26, 2012. Predeceased by his loving parents, James and Lilian Unger; brother and best friend, Robert (Bob) Unger. Survived by daughter, Karen (Dave) Gooda; grandsons, Robert and Daniel; daughter, Jenny (Graham) Hopkins; granddaughters, Jessica and Lucy. Jim will be sorely missed by his sister, Debbie and brother-in-law, Danny Parker of Victoria; sister, Shirley (Ron) Mann of Gananoque, Ontario; brother, Steve (Nene) Unger of London, England; nieces, Annalise (Dean) Sekyer, Susan (Dave) Barton of Gananoque, Ontario, Catherine and Stephanie Unger of London, England; nephews, Steve and Eddie Parker of Victoria; great-nephews, Logan and Benjamin Sekyer and Dylan, Zackery and Seth of Victoria and great-nieces, Nevaeh and Aidyn Parker of Victoria. Jim will also be missed by Shirley and Jim Fentiman (and family); Michaela and Brittany Starling of Victoria; Annabell and Randy Daniels (and family) of Ottawa; Flo Parker (and family) of London, England and many other close friends from Victoria, Ottawa and Nassau. Born in London, England, Jim led a very full life and before becoming famous for creating the cartoon Herman®, held jobs as a police officer, repo man, driving instructor and served in the British Army. For the past ten years, he has resided in Victoria, close to his family and friends. Jim really had the ability to make people laugh but best of all he was a loving, generous, loyal brother, uncle and friend who will remain in our hearts forever. Thank you to everyone that have been reaching out to Jim’s family, we appreciate your support at this difficult time. Special thanks to the Saanich Police and emergency services for their care and support. For those wishing to express their condolences and share stories, there is a memorial page at: www.facebook.com/HERMANcomics.
A Funeral Service for family and friends will be held in MCCALL BROS. FLORAL CHAPEL, Johnson & Vancouver Streets, at 1:00 pm on Wednesday, June 6, 2012 with a reception to follow. Flowers gratefully accepted or in lieu of flowers, donations in Jim’s memory can be made to the Heart & Stroke Foundation. Condolences may be offered to the family below.
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Gerry and Janet Leahy
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Jill Shannan I regret that I only met Jim once, but I was happy then to be able to tell him how very much I appreciated the friendship, and kindness, he offered to my son. His generosity and compassion seemed boundless, and his quirky humour will always make me laugh.
Thank you, Jim.
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Mike Murray I’m originally from Guernsey in the British Channel Islands and Sad to say, I never knew Jim lived in Saanich down the road from me, a mere hop skip and a jump from where I live in Sidney. But what I do know is that for many years whenever I felt down and needed uplifting I went to my dens book shelves, took out one of my Herman books and within 5 seconds was laughing until the tears rolled. And the tears are rolling again today, this time upon learning of Jim’s passing….if only some humans did not have to go…I must go get one of my Herman books again…..all the best Jim
Mike.
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Joanne Waisglass (Ottawa,ON) As a brand new transplant to Canada Jim and his family set the bar incredibly high for me as to what Canadian style hospitality entailed. I am blessed and forever grateful to have had the time to get to know his creative genius, which he displayed with very casual frequency in his unique and wickedly funny perspective of the everyday world. He uplifted and impacted the lives of countless people with joyous laughter and left this world better off for his having been in it.
I treasure my memories of those times.
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Stephanie Nystedt (née Miner) I have very fond childhood memories growing up on Brittania Street in Ottawa where Jim’s parents once lived. He was a very kind soul and I feel blessed to have known him. My deepest condolences to the family.
Stephanie (Stittsville, ON)
Karen and David.
We were sad to hear about the passing of your dad. We will keep you in our prayers during this hard time in your life.
Gerry and Janet