Identity area
Type of entity
Authorized form of name
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
History
Born in Sangudo, Alberta, on 17th October 1924, James Adam Craig was the younger son of German-Hungarian immigrants bearing the surname ‘Bauer’. Originating in Alsace Lorraine, the family had lived in Hungary for several generations before emigrating to Canada – where James’ mother promptly changed their surname to ‘Craig’ in order to avoid post-WWI anti-German sentiment. Friends, family and colleagues often addressed James Craig as ‘Jim’.
He received his elementary education, including a first exposure to English, in Sangudo, before the family moved permanently to Vancouver’s West End in the 1930s. There, James attended King George Secondary School until leaving to find gainful employment at one of the city’s shipyards in the midst of his Grade 10 year. In 1943, he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force and served as a navigator until the conflict’s end, never seeing action. Upon his enlistment’s conclusion, James earned both a B.A. and law degree from the University of British Columbia, graduating in 1956. He received his call to the bar in 1957, immediately establishing a practice, which lasted until his retirement in 1990.
Between legal assignments, James Craig was a prominent and active member of the British Columbia Mountaineering Club [BCMC] for more than twenty years; he served as its president from 1977-78, and participated in a number of notable ascents – such as the inaugural climb of Mt. Kennedy and the first Canadian ascent of Mt. Waddington. A person dedicated to communal involvement, James Craig was at various times a member of the Vancouver Ballet Society, Norbert Vezak's Western Dance Theatre, the Serra Club, Newman Club, Vancouver Community Arts Council and the Asian Arts Council – also serving as president of the Serra Club and Vancouver Ballet Society. He met his wife, Beverley (née Barkley), at a reception for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet during their tour of Vancouver; they were married in October 1966 and had three children - Janine, Patrick and William. James Adam Craig passed away in late 2011.