Skip to content

“Big Jim” as he was fondly known, passed away on October 12th, 2014 at the Trillium Health Centre in Mississauga after a brief illness. Jim was married to Margaret for 44 years. He was the proud father of Mark (Kristi), Brendan (Jennifer) and Andrew (Annie). He was a devoted grandfather to seven beautiful grandchildren: Jake, Charlie, Sloane, Evany, Connor, Mallory and Jonah. He was the son of the late Jack and Cumania Ashcroft and the brother of Pauline (Neville Heaton) and John (Mary) and uncle and great-uncle to many nieces and nephews. Jim was a fifth generation coal miner and a professional mining engineer, having first entered the coal mines of the National Coal Board in Lancashire at the age of 15. He subsequently apprenticed as a surveyor and eventually graduated from Wigan Technical College as a mining engineer. He followed his heart, on the advice of his father and uncles, and left the UK for Sudbury in 1968 to work for, what was then, The International Nickel Company at the Levack Mine. He spent that first Christmas in the Levack bunkhouse listening to Tom Jones singing “The Green Green Grass of Home”. Jim was a proud member of the Sudbury Exiles Rugby Club. He travelled to Toronto for matches and, between games, to court Margaret whom he had met in Wigan at a going away party. He married Margaret in Wigan in 1970 and they made their home in Sudbury. Jim worked diligently in a variety of roles for Inco, and in 1989, he was transferred to Thompson as the Vice President of Mining & Milling for the Manitoba Division. In 1991, Jim returned to Sudbury as the President of the Ontario Division, retiring in 1997. Following his retirement, Jim eventually made his way back into the resource business, sitting on the boards of many successful companies including FNX Mining, Hudson Bay Mining, Guyana Gold and Thompson Creek Metals. Jim was a man dedicated to making his community a better place. He volunteered his time and sat on the boards of Science North, the Sudbury General Hospital, St. Joseph’s Health Centre and Laurentian University. Jim cared deeply about his family, instructing his staff that if his family were to call, they were to put the call through, no matter what he was doing. In the summers, many productive days were spent on the magical waters of Providence Bay, Manitoulin Island fishing for salmon and rainbow trout with his three boys and, more often than not, some of their friends. Seven fit nicely into the 16 foot Lund with the 25 horsepower Mariner on many occasions. In the winters, he spent many evenings in arenas where he always stood out wearing his Irish Tweed hat. A passion for education saw each of his boys graduate from university and become professionals in their own right, marrying and starting families of their own. He was extremely proud of his grandchildren. Jim’s family would like to thank the staff at Sunrise Mississauga and the Trillium Health Centre. Resting at the Jackson & Barnard Funeral Home 233 Larch Street, Sudbury, ON Sunday, October 26th, 2014 2 – 5; 7 – 9 PM Funeral Mass At St. Patrick’s Church 39 Walford Road Monday, October 27th, 2014 At 10:00 AM Cremation to follow. Donations to St. Joseph’s Foundation or the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.

Service Details

Provided by: Jackson & Barnard Funeral Home

Service
Monday, October 27, 2014
12:00 AM


Condolences and Candles