In honour of Jim Fulton, founding Executive Director of the David Suzuki Foundation
We’ve set up this site to collect your memories and thoughts about Jim.
It’s with great sorrow that the staff and board of the David Suzuki Foundation pay our final respects to Jim Fulton. The former Executive Director of the DSF passed away on December 21st, 2008. Jim will be buried on Haida Gwaii in northern B.C. in a private family ceremony. A public memorial service is planned for February. We will post the details as soon as they become available.
It’s a testament to Jim’s incredible charm and leadership ability that so many people have already contacted us to offer their support. He inspired thousands of people throughout his life and career.
You can click here to read comments left about Jim. You can also share your own story and thoughts.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008 at 11:29 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
December 23rd, 2008 at 11:28 pm
It is so hard to believe that Jim’s amazing life force has left us. Of course, his spirit will always be with us. I was fortunate to work with Jim for almost seven years at the Suzuki Foundation and it was one of the best working experiences of my life.
The news coverage of Jim’s passing has almost all included reference to his plopping a salmon on Prime Minister Mulroney’s desk in the House of Commons in protest to the government’s West Coast fishery policy. However, Jim told many of us at DSF that when he approached the Prime Minister’s desk he saw that he was signing a large stack of letters. Jim thought some secretary had typed all those letters (pre-computer days) and he couldn’t slap a salmon on them. So instead, he plopped it on the desk beside the PM. That says even more about the Jim so many of us loved.
My condolences to Jim’s parents, children and to Melanie. Your loss is immense we all know. I think, and hope, you know how much he was loved and respected by so many. The comment I’ve most heard in the past two days is: They don’t make them like Fulton anymore.
We love ya Fulton, always.
Jean
December 24th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
There are lots of stories about Jim’s roguish charm, but the one thing that always makes me smile is the thoughtful side of him.
When Jim discovered I had a passion for photographing flowers, he very kindly presented me with a book he’d received on a trip to Chile with terrific photos of tropical plants. To top it off, he arranged for me to visit his mother and father’s home in Vancouver with an all access pass to shoot their garden.
I took some great shots that day, and it was a treat to meet Mama & Papa Fulton, who were as warm and charming as Jim. Mama Fulton even made me lunch, and we sat and had a great time laughing about Jim’s adventures as a child.
As everyone knows, Jim has a God given ability to charm people from all walks of life. Shortly after I started at DSF, several DSFers went on a trip to Washington, DC. I’d arranged a series of meetings and events for Jim and the Doc. From the corridors of austere book publishers to the hallowed halls of the National Geographic Society and even five-star restaurants, Jim was nothing short of incredible. He was like a human chameleon, blending into every social situation as if he has been born there.
Jim’s love of life and passion for helping people has been an inspiration. I am proud to work for DSF and I’m proud to have known him.
December 26th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
Jim Fulton and I had the same friends, since grade 12 in Vancouver. So we knew each other for over 30 years and every once in a while we would catch up. He always had a twinkle in his eye, a sense of humour, and could be sarcastic in a fun way. During the university days he was as crazy as any of us and noted for his “gift of the gab” though called something else by us. As an MP, I was pleasantly surprised on the infrequent occasions when I ran into him that he seemed to be pretty much the same guy as before. Of course I loved the salmon on Mulroney’s desk, everyone did. I probably hadn’t heard from him in ten years and one day he called me when I was at CBC:
“Howe! Fulton. You need to do something for us”.
“Who’s us?”
“The Suzuki Foundation - so get off your bureaucratic butt and listen to what you have to do…”
And of course I did it and it was worth doing and it had been good to hear from Jim again.
Shine on Jim.
December 31st, 2008 at 2:24 am
It is with sincere regret and sorrow that I have learned that Jim has passed away. Although I have not known him personally, I learned of him through various books and online articles. I am relatively young to the environmental scene but I can appreciate it when I see people devoting so much of their time to the environmental causes, in the service of many. Jim certainly seemed like such an extraordinary man and I only wish I had the opportunity to meet him and learn from him.
Jim, you will be missed by many. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything you have done for us and the Earth.
January 1st, 2009 at 10:00 am
I knew Jim Fulton during the time he was a student at Simon Fraser University. In the late 1960s he rented a room on a house on Yale Street in North Burnaby, where I and a number of other young people also rented rooms around that time. I think he was in his late teens when I first met him.
Even at that age, he had a strong presence, strong convictions, a gregarious nature, and a wide circle of friends. Everything he was involved with was characterized by a high level of energy, enthusiasm, and sense of enjoyment.
The last time I met him was in the late 1970s in Toronto. I was walking in the Eaton Centre when I heard a loud booming voice calling out my name. I was impressed that he remembered me. He was visiting Toronto with his wife. I was pleased to meet them both on that occasion. He was very proud to be a Member of Parliament.
January 8th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
I was terrified my first day with the Foundation. Well, half day actually. Jim MacArthur told me to start at 1 and he’d meet me at the office. As I slipped quietly in the front door, and waited by the front desk for the receptionist to finish her call, I picked up snippets of the conversation that let me know MacArthur was a no-show. I let the Crystal Gayle lookalike know that I was starting today, but that I was waiting for MacArthur before I went in. She introduced herself as Carol, told me Jim’s plane had been delayed, and somehow she hyp’motized me with that lyrical voice because she persuaded me to walk the long hallway past Suzuki’s office (MY GOD!) and into the brightly lit Panther Lounge. Alone. Unknown. And at lunchtime. It must have been some sense of panic, or perhaps a peak experience, but time slowed right down, and to this day I can recall the scene verbatim! The first row of cubicles to my left was dark and lit with small lamps, and the volume of conversations belied this seemingly vacant alley. To the right, a lounge of tiki style bamboo furniture was occupied by folks having an animated discussion, and one of them was patting the head of a black jaguar that was wearing a batik bandana. In front of me was a large square of tables strewn with newspapers where folks were eating and talking and reading. For a millisecond, I felt like an invisible voyeur in a strange new world – but just then, everyone seemingly stopped what they were doing and turned to look at me. And that’s when I met Slim Jim. “BERTA!” He belted out as he lumbered towards me from the board room. “Hey everyone, this is Berta!” Jim wrapped me up in a full bear-hug, lifted me clean off the ground and shook me for good measure. When he put me down he said, “Hey, I’ve got the slogan for your new project” and with his thumb, thrust his lapel at me. On it was a button of dubious origin. I read it aloud: “Shuck me. Suck me. Eat me Raw. When do we start Jim?”
From that auspicious beginning I felt that whatever I could do or wanted to do at the Foundation would be supported. It was clear that no matter how big my energy was, I wasn’t going to scare this guy! So when I asked if I could build a straw bale house in Nemiah, he didn’t ask if I knew how to build a house or even how to spell house, he merely suggested I build two instead of one.
My time in Nemiah was punctuated by small stints in the Vancouver office, and during those times, I soaked up as much Slim Jim as I could. I learned as I watched him both charm and confound the media all the while pumping up the Foundation’s social capital. I was awed by his fluency on a myriad of topics; from fuel cells to the science of climate change, from CMTs to AACs. But most impressive is his effortless ability to relate to anyone and everyone, including politicians, First Nation’s elders and celebrities.
I’ve been an E.D. for five years now, and appreciate Jim’s brilliance even more: I was blessed to learn at the knee of the master and Jim’s legacy inspires me to be my best self every day.
I miss you Jimbo…
Roberta
January 8th, 2009 at 10:38 pm
On New Year’s Eve we had a Burning for Jim at our house on the Sangan River, Haida Gwaii. This is what I wrote about it for friends who couldn’t be here.
The morning of New Years Eve the ravens came, then the eagles, making a huge ruckus in the trees around our house. I have never known there to be both ravens and eagles around here at the same time.
Three swans kept vigil outside the house. There had been two up until this point, and since swans mate for life I worried for the third one - alone, but in good company. Later there was a falcon. He swooped down over the river when I went to see what all the fuss was about. I’ve never seen a falcon here on our land before, either.
Ramsey, an older Haida who lives out this way, and who walks the road all day, every day, said a raven flew beside him all the way down the road - something that has never happened before. Ramsey believes, in the quiet way he has of letting me know things, that it could only have been Jim.
The woodshed was empty so we set up a bar (I bought Stephen a painting for Christmas - a murder of crows all having drinks at the CROWBAR) and hung it with lights. Ramsey got a fire started about three o’clock and I built an altar and we loaded it with food and treasures and clothing to send with Jim into his next life. Crab, scallops, black cold, salmon, halibut, cockles, abalone shells filled with lace agates, a bottle of Jack Daniels, an EmergenC (so he doesn’t catch a cold), a pottery goblet, I’ve had since I was 18, a Sheriff’s badge (Jim called Stephen “jefe” so it seemed appropriate) sweetgrass, sage, cedar, tobacco - one of Stephen’s beautiful drums so he would have music. Henry White threw in a $20 bill in case he needs cash. About sixty people gathered round the fire when the burning began. Stephen thanked the Haida for allowing us to hold the ceremony on their land, and thanked all the grandfathers.
We passed around a photo of Jim and everyone held a lighted candle so they could see him and welcome him in from the cold.
I was also worried because of all the children standing in the front row - worried that the Jack Daniels might explode - and when we added a huge cone (pine? or some exotic tree that Tara and David sent- the whole fire went whhhoooooosh in a huge ball of light. We all fell back - a few singed eyebrows but nothing more. Jim - came to us, and, as quickly as he came, he left again.
All through the night it snowed, and Henry and Stephen said that whenever they stopped talking about Jim huge chunks of snow fell down on them from the trees. They knew it was Jim saying, “Hey! More talking about me, please!”
More and more people arrived - every scrap of the 20lb turkey (Linda and Mark’s island-grown) was eaten. Just as we would start running out of food, more would arrive, and in such a timely manner. David brought pork/beans and molasses when the turkey ran out, and buns with mustard and melted cheese, and Shirley the most amazing little butter tarts, just in time for dessert.
I went to bed about 2:00, with the snow still falling and revellers still sitting around the fire and someone playing a guitar. We melted all the snow by sitting around the fire, but this morning every trace of us having been there was covered again and stillness had returned to the clearing.
January 2, 2009: The ravens are still in the trees all around the house. Stephen says they will be around four days. Every month, at the full moon, I must light a fire and send a food offering to Jim for the next four months.
Haw’aa Salaanaas.
January 21st, 2009 at 11:03 am
Jim Fulton was a decent man.
A rare man indeed as an elected federal politician for most of his life he never once compromised his principles or his integrity. Jim Fulton was one of the few individuals this past 25 years who had the balls to go to bat for Blue Energy’s suppressed Tidal Power Technology.
BC Hydro was screwing us around in the mid nineties (still doing so today) and Jim’s lobbying efforts on our behalf with then Premier Harcourt led to the Independent Dr. Halvorson Report; saying the technology worked as we claimed it did, and moreover it was an unprecedented opportunity for British Columbia. And still is today.
Dr. Halvorson’s 68 page report went a long ways to establishing the credibility of our world class game changing tidal power technology. Someday in the future you’ll be driving on the Halvorson Fulton tidal bridge spanning from Vancouver to Victoria providing some 15,000 MW of clean low cost predictable power (the present grid is only 10,000 MW).
Your friends at Blue Energy will never forget that and we miss you dearly.
Martin Burger
Founding CEO Blue Energy Canada Inc.
January 23rd, 2009 at 11:22 am
He was a Great man and I was very sad when the news came on the tv that he had passed away at only 58 years old. I first saw him when Mount St. Helens blew her top at the NDP convention in Penticton. From there 2 other NDP functions, it was easy to see he was a thoughtful, compassionate man. He is in heaven now watching down on us, he has earned his angel status. The sorrow for the family I’m sure is great but life is like that, we can do the best, and love each other for the time each of us has left on this beautiful earth and try to live by Jim’s lessons, to be strong and don’t be afraid.
January 23rd, 2009 at 6:36 pm
Holy cow!! I just watched the “Suzuki Diaries” in the internet — my Friday TV. I to post a note a “way to go guys” note to David Suzuki and daughter Sarika for giving me more hope and got this!!
I remember meeting Jim Fulton in the early 90s at a CEN at Nakoda Lodge in Alberta. I was impressed, smitten and a little taken a back with this real, plain speaking, glad to know, kind of easy to reach guy. I’ve since learned that he was my kindred spirit’s godchild. No surprise. I feel a loss, for myself and the planet. My heart goes to the heavens looking for him. To say I miss you. We miss you.
January 25th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
I met Jim when he was here in Nova Scotia for an NDP Caucus meeting in I think 1982 or 83. Because the meeting was held in the riding that I tried to take for the NDP in the provincial election I was invited to lunch with Ed Broadbent and some of the MP’s. Because of work I couldn’t attend which as a relative kid of 22 was very disappointing. That night when I got home I got a call from none other than Jim Fulton who asked if it was alright if he came into town and we would go out to the local bar for a few beers. Of course I was delighted and I had a great evening of stories and was able to introduce Jim to half the town. One thing that stuck in my mind from that evening was when Jim told me to give him a call if I was ever in Ottawa, he said it would be no problem finding him as his number was the only one in the directory for parliment that started with FU. Jim was careing and down to earth and his unnecessary concern for a young failed candidate touched me and I have remembered that kindness to this day. I am very sorry to hear of Jim’s passing, we have all lost one of the really good ones.
David Sampson
January 27th, 2009 at 9:50 pm
I was so sorry to hear about Jim’s passing this winter.
I was fortunate to work at DSF in 2002-2004 with a wonderful team led by Jim. Never before or since then have I met anyone who could command a room the way he did. His passion for the work of DSF and environmental protection, his sense of fun and fair play were unwavering and inspiring - larger than life!My sincere condolences to his family.
February 7th, 2009 at 7:05 am
I am very sorry to hear of Jim’s passing,and I would like to extend my deepest sympathies to his family and friends. I only knew Jim briefly while volunteering in the Vancouver office back in the winter of 2005, but his presence in my memories of this time inspires me to share his influence upon me. On my way into the office for the first time for my interview I stopped for a bite at Caper’s deli. Nervous and excited I sat down in the window beside some strangers to enjoy a bean salad. As I sat in a semi-dazed state the three then strangers and I awoke to a snowball pounding the glass in front of us. Startled, looking up, the four of us realized the culprit was this tall character grinning from ear to ear. The three beside me began to laugh and shake their fists and then proceeded to talk of how great this Jim character is. I smiled, as it is always nice to share in a moment of such great respect and true feeling, then I finished my salad and went on up for my interview. The next week when I began my placement Sari took me around and introduced me to the DSF family and this was when I had the pleasure of meeting Big Smiling Jim. It was my observation over the next few months that this smile never seemed to leave his face, and that every time he walked through the office everyone else could not help but smile as well. Thank you Jim for this great lesson and your service to our Earth.
February 11th, 2009 at 10:37 am
I have been away for several weeks, and just learned today that Jim had died. I did not know him personally, but I do know that he will be greatly missed, as a good man and an ardent environmentalist.
March 2nd, 2009 at 11:42 pm
As a child growing up on the Charlottes Jim and Liz came to visit many times or we would go out to the river and have dinner at the cabin. I only wish I could have stayed in touch as I grew-up. Your laugh will be missed by a great many.
Thank you Jim.
March 29th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
Interesting article, i have bookmarked your site for future referrence
May 26th, 2009 at 2:32 pm
Interesting site, but much advertisments on him. Shall read as subscription, rss.
June 23rd, 2009 at 7:58 pm
Jim was the big brother that you always wanted. He was generous, funny and serious all at the same time. He could mince words like a professional and have you rolling around the floor laughing with a twitch of his eyebrows. He made such a difference to the world we live in. He lives on in each of our hearts.
July 5th, 2009 at 1:01 pm
Jim and Larry met on the Probation training course at the Justice Institute in the 70’s and became fast friends. I(Chris) meet Jim when he was working as a Probation officer in Mackenzie and I was a childcare worker there in 1974. He was bigger than life and took the air out of the room when he walked in. He siad he was going to the Charlottes to “save the sitka spruce and we remained friends seeing Jim, Liz, Katie and Blair when they passed through Prince George every August. We visited on Haida Gwaii and had many laughs and memorable times. My favorite memory of Jim was crab fishing with him on Agate beach on the north Island.We spent hours crashing around the sand and waves with Jim, picking the crab and Katie and I dragging the bucket. We couldn’t keep up with him, few people could, if any. To think that that marvelous energy and passionate spirit has left the earth in his human form!We know he lives on in our hearts and minds but we do miss his gigantic hugs and booming laugh. As my son Ky says ” A world with out Jim just doesn’t seem right.”
We know he had his private side and we respect that but we are mad at him too. He never let us say goodbye, when we called he lied and said thing were good, so it feels incomplete that we couldn’t share some of those last days. We know that is selfish, there always seemed so much of him to go around but there wasn’t and I hope his last days as a physical being helped to complete his journey here. Still we expect to see him walk through the door with the fixings for a “good martini”, fresh caught salmon and a veracious appetite for life. We miss you Jim, see you in the summerland.
So mote it be
The Leischners
September 20th, 2009 at 1:24 pm
I worked as staff with Jim in 1990 when he was an MP with the House of Commons Standing Committee on Environment. He was one of the most knowledgeable MPs on the Committee. He treated staff as equals and was passionate about climate change. A quick study, I once told him that he had to “trash” this witness who was denying climate change. “No problem,” he said. I gave him some information and he took care of it. He had a very infectious, uplifting personality. A wonderful man, great to be around. I’m so so sorry to learn that he died.