James Arthur Campbell: Farmer. Patriarch. Cattle breeder. Bridge whiz. Born Dec. 5, 1929, in Stormont County, Ont.; died Dec. 14, 2023, in Alexandria, Ont., of heart failure; aged 94.
James Arthur Campbell.Courtesy of family
When I was younger, I wanted to marry a handsome, sensitive, smart farmer. My cousin, Jean, beat me to it when she married Jim Campbell.
Jim would have made a great scientist or academic. Whatever he was interested in, he would drill down and learn everything he could about a subject, whether it was the 1880 massacre of the Donnelly family, cattle breeding, golf, investments or bridge. Although he only spent one year in high school, he was a voracious reader and his interests varied widely.
Born on a farm in Eastern Ontario, Jim was one of the six children of Arthur and Hilda Campbell. His early years were marked by sadness when he lost his mother at age 8 and his education ended at age 14, when he was pulled out of school to work on the farm.
In 1954, he bought his father’s 100-acre family farm in Stormont County. Prospects were not great for dairy farming then, the major crop in the area was rocks in the spring.
Jim quickly realized if he was going to succeed he would have to specialize. With his characteristic determination, he studied Holstein blood lines and read everything he could get his hands on. In the days before embryo transplants, his cattle were shipped all over the world. He was named a Master Breeder by the Canadian Holstein Breeders Association in 1984. One of his first prized Holsteins was called Pietje (Dutch for Peachy). Pietje had her own private stall in the barn and was always milked by hand, never machine. Jim would wind up a music box which played Beethoven’s Für Elise while he milked her. She was the only cow on the farm who died of old age. When teased about this seeming sentimentality (rare in farmers), Jim deadpanned, “Pietje helped pay for this barn. She can stay in it as long as she likes.” Jim made enough money in breeding and selling Holsteins to retire at age 56.
Jim first noticed Jean MacInnes when she was highland dancing at the Glengarry Highland Games in 1948. As soon as she turned 18, he asked her out. The couple married in 1956 and were rarely apart for the next 67 years.
They farmed and raised four daughters – Karen, Lynn, Patti and Sandra. Their first three daughters were close in age, so as soon as they could walk, Jim took them out to the barn with him in the morning, to allow Jean some much-needed sleep. The sight of the three little pairs of rubber boots at the back door was adorable. The girls worked on the farm, raised their own calves through 4-H clubs and three of them became Dairy Princesses. Jim was thoughtful and loving, and with his encouragement, they all went to university or college and into successful careers.
Jim became president of the Glengarry Highland Games and, with Jean, was the guest of honour in 2022. It was one of many organizations he volunteered with, including the Kenyon Agricultural Society, the Stormont Holstein Club and the Curling Club in Maxville, Ont.
Jim loved to tell slightly off-colour jokes, to which Jean would say, “Really, Jim! I don’t know where you get these things!” His now adult grandchildren remember being grossed out by his “booger” jokes when they were little. A few were told at the reception after Jim’s funeral.
After retirement, Jim and Jean travelled and he took up golf. As he did with everything, he worked hard to perfect his game. He also became passionate about duplicate bridge, regularly winning local tournaments. He learned to play bridge online and continued playing until two days before his death.
Hundreds of people came to honour this local legend and master bridge player. At his funeral, one friend said: “I hope there are Grand Slams in heaven.”
Bonnie Laing is James Campbell’s cousin.
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