James Mathew, aka Jim, was born on February 29, 1972 in Winnipeg, Canada. Along with his parents, Jim had one younger brother, Ben.

Jim became a Christian at a young age and there are fond memories of him speaking at prayer meetings along with his brother. He grew up attending Calvary Temple in Winnipeg and at young age was baptized at Strawberry Lake Christian Retreat in Minnesota. Jim attended Calvin Christian elementary and Mennonite Brethren high school in Winnipeg. Subsequently he studied at the University of Manitoba and completed a degree in Sociology along with the courses towards a Master's degree.

From his earliest days, Jim loved sports. Many cold winter days in Winnipeg were spent with Ben and the neighborhood kids playing street hockey in front of the house. As he got older Jim excelled at ice hockey playing forward at the competitive AA level. Later, Jim went on to excel at both tennis and golf. He was a registered tennis instructor in Manitoba and became a golf pro teaching at a local golf club. Along with playing sports, Jim loved watching sports. He always knew the recent events about any team in nearly any sport, and he particularly loved talking with dad about the Winnipeg Jets.

Jim loved family. He cherished memories of time spent with relatives and, more recently, was always excited to hear the latest about his nieces and nephew: Abigail, Hannah, Jonathan and Elizabeth.

In the last few years Jim's passion increasingly turned towards his love for Jesus. He loved watching or attending Church on the Queensway in Toronto. Whether he was discussing the latest sermon or encouraging his parents with a Bible verse, he always ended the conversation by reminding the listener to 'put God first'. For this change in his life his family is very grateful to God. Jim will be sorely missed by his family and friends.