Honouring Our Dad: A Celebration of Life at Crab Park

Honouring Our Dad: A Celebration of Life at Crab Park

Hello community,

On March 5th, 2025, our beloved father Jamie Richardson suddenly passed away. He was a wonderful father, a loving husband and grandfather, and a true pillar in his community in the Downtown Eastside. His heart was immense, and his life’s work was deeply rooted in advocacy and care for others.

From the earliest days of the toxic drug crisis, our dad worked tirelessly to save lives, administering naloxone with compassion and urgency—often when no one else was there. He stood up for the voiceless and offered dignity, hope, and humanity to so many.

A heartfelt message shared by a close friend within the DTES community who was greatly impacted by our dad’s work — 

“He was a man of extraordinary calibre who demonstrated truly what it meant to show up for community. I knew him about 15 years and he always treated me with kindness and with the safety I needed as a younger person unhoused, and a person who used drugs in the dtes. Before naloxone was readily accessible, he had it and was THEEE person his neighbours and comrades would come to during an overdose in the early days of the toxic supply crisis. When we talk about the people who modeled old school harm reduction practices and those who fought for us to do our work today, he's one of those people. He tirelessly fought for our community that the ruling class deemed disposable. I am so sorry for your loss. I know how much he meant to you. I'm sending so much love”

We are extremely heartbroken by his loss but comforted in knowing we can honour his one true wish: to be celebrated at Crab Park on a sunny day, where we will gather on Saturday May 3rd, 2025 @ 1pm - 4pm (weather pending) to spread his ashes and come together to celebrate and remember him. It is a place close to our hearts, where our mom Tina and our stepmom Marla “Momtoo”— were also laid to rest.

Our dad loved deeply. He loved his children and grandchildren, his friends, and his community. He found joy in music, fishing, and CBC radio, and had a soft spot for Sasquatch podcasts. He gardened with care, recycled with intention, and always thought about the world he wanted to leave behind for future generations.

This GoFundMe is to help us give him the sendoff he deserves—a simple but heartfelt celebration down at Crab Park, surrounded by those who knew and loved him. Funds will help cover the costs of the memorial, printing posters to distribute in the community, food and refreshments, and support for our family during this difficult time. Any remaining funds will go to his daughters who will be taking a much needed trip up to Port Hardy with our young children to visit family, after we have seen out his celebration. 

Thank you for your love, your support, and for honouring the legacy of a brilliant man who gave so much of himself to others.

With love and gratitude,

his daughters - Linda & Barbara James