Obituary of James Roos Breithaupt

BREITHAUPT, LIEUTENANT-COLONEL (Ret’d) JAMES R.,KSTJ, CD, OM(POL), QC, MA, LLB, LLD

1934 - 2018

James (Jim) Roos Breithaupt passed away peacefully on August 29, 2018 at Freeport Health Centre at the age of 83 years. Husband of Jane (née Adamson); Loving father of Jennifer Breithaupt (James Smith) and Martha Breithaupt Oner of Kitchener. Dear Grandfather of William James, Emre Nicholas and Alara Emma. Predeceased by his parents Major Rudolph Anthes Breithaupt MBE, ED, BA and Marion Gertrude Elizabeth Martha Roos, and his older brother Peter. 

Jim always identified himself firstly as a gunner. Commissioned in the Royal Canadian Artillery after completing Officer training in Shilo, Manitoba in 1952-54, he served as: Troop Leader in Z Battery (Para) 1 RCHA; Adjutant of the Artillery Training Wing; and Lieutenant and Captain in the 29th Field Regiment (SP) in Toronto. Upon returning to Waterloo to practice law, he transferred to the Scots Fusiliers of Canada as the eighth officer member of his family and the first third-generation officer. On amalgamation with the Highland Light Infantry, Jim served in the Highland Fusiliers of Canada as company commander, rising to Commanding Officer from 1971 to 1973. In October 2009, he was appointed Lieutenant Colonel of the 7th Toronto Regiment, and thereafter promoted in January 2011 to Honorary Colonel for a three-year term. An economist, he graduated from the University of Western Ontario and has a Master’s Degree from the University of Toronto. He was called to the Ontario Bar in 1962 and became a Queen’s Counsel in 1975.

First elected in 1967 to the Ontario Legislature as the MPP for Kitchener, he was successful in four further elections and became the House Leader for the Liberal opposition. He chaired the Ontario Law Reform Commission from 1984 to 1989 and the Commercial Registration Appeal Tribunal (now the License Appeal Tribunal) from 1989 to 1993. He was a Deputy Judge in the Small Claims Court of the Superior Court of Justice in Central South Region for almost twenty years. Having originally considered a career in the clergy, the Waterloo Lutheran University (as it then was) held a special affection for him.  As the Vice-Chairman of its Board of Governors, Jim suggested the name of Wilfrid Laurier when the University became a provincial institution in 1973.  In recognition of his service and contributions, he received a Doctor of Laws degree from WLU in 2006 and was honoured as one of 100 “Alumni of Achievement” on Laurier's 100th Anniversary.

His record of service touched a broad variety of organizations, including: Senator of the Order to St. Lazarus; President of the Royal Canadian Military Institute (2010-2011); Knight of Justice of the Order of St. John; Member of Branches 412 (Polish), 165 (Fort York), 50 (Fred Gies) of the Royal Canadian Legion; Member of the Concordia Club and the K-W Khaki Club. Passionate about history and heraldry, Jim was a life member and Past President (1996-1998) of the Waterloo Historical Society and received a personal grant of arms from the Canadian Heraldic Authority in 1990.  He was the founding Chairman of the German Pioneer’s Day Committee 2001-2004, and also of the Kaiser Wilhelm I Monument reconstruction committee in 1996. Jim has received: the Canadian Forces Decoration with bar; the Centennial, Silver, Jubilee, Canada 125, Golden and Diamond Jubilee medals; the St. John Long Service medal with 4 bars; and both the Commissionaires’ Distinguished Service medal and Long Service medal with bar.  He is a Knight of the Order of Merit of Poland.

The Last Post Fund was the charity closest to Jim’s heart, its mission being to ensure that no Veteran is denied a dignified funeral and burial due to insufficient funds at time of death. He designed and created the Fund’s Long Service Medal, which he later received in 2011. In 2014 he received the Award of Merit.

Friends are invited to share their memories of Jim with his family during memorial visitation at the Erb & Good Family Funeral Home, 171 King Street South, Waterloo, on Thursday, September 6, 2018 from 2-4 p.m. & 6-8 p.m. A private family service will follow at Mount Hope Cemetery in Waterloo. Condolences for the family and donations to The Last Post Fund may be arranged through the funeral home at www.erbgood.com or 519-745-8445.