Obituary of James Patrick Meechan

To view the service recording, please click here.

Jim died peacefully at home on March 25, 2026, in his 96th year, after valiantly enduring and persevering through chronic kidney disease.

Born August 17, 1930 in Glasgow, Scotland to Mary (“Molly”) (nee O’Reilly) and Patrick Meechan.

Predeceased by his loving wife of 66 years, Katharine (nee Hanlon), and his younger siblings Ronald and Patricia.

He will be remembered with enduring love and gratitude by his children: Mary (Geoff) Bond, Paul (Denise) Meechan, Patricia (Les) Gyulay, Eileen Meechan, Catherine (Paul) Motz, Clare Meechan, and Thomas (Heather) Meechan; his 26 grandchildren, as their Scottish “Seanair”; by his four great-grandchildren, as “Sinn-seanair”; and his dear friends, both life-long and new. 

Jim graduated from the renowned Glasgow School of Art, and went on to achieve a post-graduate diploma in stained glass in 1953. That same year, he emigrated to Canada, choosing to settle in Toronto where he promptly established himself as a professional artist — a designer and maker of stained glass, a painter, and a muralist.

His artwork, principally stained glass, was commissioned for churches, colleges and hospitals in Scotland and across Canada. His work was exhibited by the National Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Ontario Society of Artists, and in liturgical art exhibitions in Canada and the United States.

Jim taught visual arts at the high school level for over 30 years. He began at downtown Toronto’s Central Technical School (once regarded as the largest school of its kind in the British Empire, and attended by members of the renowned Group of Seven). Ten years later, in 1967, he moved to Downsview Secondary School, as head of its art department. In that same year, he recognized the need and initiated plans for more extensive visual arts education programming that, two years later, led to the creation of the C.W. Jeffery’s Art Centre in the City of North York. Through his leadership (until retirement in 1986), the Art Centre quickly became one of Metropolitan Toronto’s foremost visual arts institutions at the high school level, with many of its graduates accelerated into the Ontario College of Art and professional art careers. Jim also initiated a program of art classes for adults uniquely offered by the North York School Board, and served as an associate teacher for the Faculty of Education at the University of Toronto.

The calibre of Jim’s art earned him election to the Ontario Society of Artists in 1966, and eventual recognition as an OSA life member.

Jim’s art reflected his life: full of colour and variety, enlivened by his faith, family, and travels, and his insatiable appetite for learning, teaching, storytelling, humour and laughter.  

He championed hard work, but paired it with the merits of rest and recreation. Jim enjoyed decades of summers at the family cottage on the Lake Huron shore in Southampton and winters post-retirement in Green Valley, Arizona.     

Yet, he regarded himself as most blessed by his parents’ gift to him of the Roman Catholic Faith. It shaped his whole life, especially how it brought him to his “Darlin’ Cathie” in 1953 and how they raised their children and lived out their 66-year marriage which he often described as a beautiful dance. He observed to his children: “Of all the debts I owe to God with such gratitude: His Mercy and your mother.”

Jim’s family salutes the meaningful and kind care he received from Dr. Ivan Jagas (GP), Dr. Michael Wang (Nephrologist), all the staff at Grand River Hospital’s Dialysis Clinic, those from Ontario Health at Home, its Palliative Care Team, and the Personal Support Workers who closely attended to his needs.

In his daily prayers, Jim was long dedicated to praying for souls longing for heaven and was earnest to instil that devotion in others. Following his example, his family asks that you please pray for the repose of Jim's soul and all souls seeking God’s merciful embrace.

His family will welcome visitors at the Erb & Good  Family Funeral Home, 171 King St S, Waterloo on Monday, March 30, 2026, 2-4p.m. and 7-9p.m, with Prayers of the Rosary to be offered at 8:30p.m. A Requiem Mass will be offered on Tuesday, March 31 at 11a.m. at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church, 1043 Isabella Street, Linwood, ON; followed by Burial at Mount Hope Cemetery, 83 Roger St, Waterloo, ON; followed by a Reception at the Erb & Good Funeral Home.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (Canada) Inc., and can be arranged through the funeral home, www.erbgood.com or by calling 519-745-8445.