INNISFAIL – Friends, family, colleagues and members of the Innisfail community gathered on Saturday to pay respect to, celebrate the life of and remember Jim Brittain.
Close to 500 people joined the Brittain family for a memorial service at the Innisfail Schools Campus on Sept. 7.
The service, officiated by pastor Jeff Baker and coordinated by Rev. Jeanne Hunter, included traditional hymns, a video tribute, a eulogy by sister-in-law Evelyn Brittain, a tribute by Innisfail High School colleague Coralie Mobley and honorary pallbearers, all of whom were Innisfail Cyclones alumni.
Brittain, 61, was diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, late last fall and passed away earlier this summer on July 15.
He grew up in Innisfail and worked as an educational assistant at Innisfail High School for 23 years. He spent 30 years volunteering in the town’s sporting community, including Innisfail Minor Ball, Innisfail Minor Soccer and with the Innisfail Cyclones high school football team.
Two of the eight Cyclones honorary pallbearers were 18-year-old Josh McKill and 19-year-old Phoenix Baird.
“It’s really special. Jim asked us (Phoenix and I) personally to be an honorary pallbearer on grad day,” said McKill. “Jim was the one who encouraged me to join football. I’m really thankful for that.”
Baird is a former Cyclones team captain.
“My favourite memory was the speech Jim did every game. It was an awesome speech; it brought everybody up and made the game way better with it,” said Baird. “Jim was always motivating people on the sidelines when they were off the field. He was a great all-round person.”
Innisfail-Sylvan Lake MLA Devin Dreeshen and his father Earl Dreeshen, MP for Red Deer-Mountain View, were also on hand for the memorial service, as a Cyclones alumnus, and a former colleague of Brittain, respectively.
“Jim was an incredible man. This memorial goes to show how many lives he touched,” said Devin Dreeshen, one of the eight honorary pallbearers Saturday. “I went to school with Jim’s son and he coached me in football. He leaves an incredible legacy.”
Earl Dreeshen was a teacher at Innisfail High School for 34 years and spent several working alongside Brittain.
“Jim was a critical part of our community. His commitment to sports was really something special,” said Earl Dreeshen.
Others, including former classmate and teammate Duane Daines also shared memories with friends and family gathered for the service.
“We had the most fun playing football together, with the Innisfail Ocelots,” said Daines. “Jim was a running back. When they handed him the ball he went straight ahead and he was hard to tackle,” he added with a smile.
Chinook’s Edge School Division superintendent Kurt Sacher joined others in noting how Brittain touched the lives of Innisfail’s youth.
“Jim was all about the kids all the time,” said Sacher. “He was a wonderful man and did a great job modelling the way for all of us, about how to treat our young people.
“The young people are here today to show how much they appreciate Jim and all that he did for them,” Sacher concluded.
