James William Puddy

James William. Puddy, of Ontario, Canada and Jupiter, Florida, passed away peacefully on July, 19, 2026, his 82nd birthday.

Jim is survived by his beloved wife, Linda, with whom he enjoyed the last 15 years. Together, they were very active, participating in numerous activities including biking, kayaking, summers on Lake Simcoe, winters in Florida, along with lots of travelling to exciting international destinations. Jim and Linda were a great team, and made each other better people.They enjoyed social gatherings with friends in Bayshore as well as visiting Linda’s family and friends on the drive to and from Florida each year.

Jim loved his twin girls, Jennifer and Paula. Growing up, he gave them 4 career choices, and was so proud that they became a doctor and a lawyer respectively relying on Jen for medical advice and Paula for legal advice (albeit for a short time). Despite their geographic distance, they spent hours on the phone keeping him up-to-date with their lives. These were never short phone calls, and often including a discussion of stocks, Paula’s business ventures, grandkids, and tech support. Known as ‘Big D’, he was proud of the independent women his girls became, balancing careers with family.

Jim’s grandchildren, Kaitlin, Grayson, Sierra, Zoe and Max, who called him “Bubba”, were bright lights in his life and gave him great joy. He enjoyed playing many games with them such as Jenga, bola ball, corn hole,Trouble, and Yahtzee - never letting them win just for the sake of winning! Over the years, there was lots of tubing, waterskiing, trailer rides, golf and mini putt, trains, mini donuts, and moose tracks ice cream during summer visits to Thicketwood hosted by Bubba and Linda! Spending time together with Linda, his girls and the grand kids, meant the world to him, especially in the summer at Thicketwood celebrating his birthdays!!

Jim’s sister, Vicki, has been a constant joyful presence in his life. They shared so many laughs together reminiscing about old times, and playing jokes on each other. Vicki was responsible for many, many gag gifts on his birthday such as a motorized bazooka water gun which he used to blow out the candles on his 50 th birthday cake! Jim joined Vicki in Florida for many winters, before meeting Linda, during which time they sailed in the Florida Keys and the Bahamas, ballooned, and enjoyed many drinks together.

Born on July 19, 1944, in Belleville, Ontario, Jim was the son of the late Mary Puddy (nee Peck) and Beverly Puddy. Jim grew up in Toronto, in the Beach, and had fun summers sailing on Kiaora with the family to the Thousand Islands from RCYC at the Toronto Islands. Jim attended Malvern C.I., UTS, and the University of Toronto, graduating with a degree in industrial engineering, followed by his P. Eng. He worked in manufacturing his entire life, mostly in Toronto, starting as a process engineer, and being promoted into plant manager roles, and ultimately the President of an American photo frame company in England for 5 years.

In the early years of his career, he moved his family to the Beach(es) in Toronto, where he grew up. He bought Sabrina, a sloop, at ABYC where he introduced the family to sailing on Lake Ontario. The home on Lee Avenue was an open house to his friends and family as well as Jennifer and Paula’s friends from high school, HBA, law school, med school and field hockey. Big D was a big personality who, at the very same time, could be both intimidating and welcoming! After England, Jim embarked on an adventure of a lifetime with his family, living in the Bahamas on a 40-foot sailboat, the Golden Osprey, in the Bahamas for a year. It was an exciting time with sailing, fishing, snorkelling, free-diving, spear fishing, and many happy hours! In particular, Jim loved the Exumas in the Bahamas with its pristine, clear, warm water with which could not be accurately described – with its thousand shades of blue and aquamarine. Many of his long-time friends, along with the girls’ friends, enjoyed a trip on the Golden Osprey. In fact, he, as Captain, and his sister Vicki, gourmet cook, continued to live on the boat together once the girls returned to high school, and hosted cruise charters.

Jim was always pursuing passions including model G scale trains, steam trains, tall ships, Mopar muscle cars, orchids, miniatures, fishing, birding, sailing, canoeing, and more. Furthermore, he could fix almost anything much to Linda’s chagrin. Jim lived life to its fullest. He was larger than life, and the consummate host. We joked that perhaps he was, “the most interesting man in the world”. We love him and miss him.

A Celebration of Life with family and friends will be held at a later date in Florida and Ontario.

Linda, Vicki and his girls, extend their heartfelt gratitude to the staff of Treasure Coast Hospice and all those who provided comfort, care, and support to Jim and his loved ones during this difficult time.

The family prefers not to receive flowers. Instead, please consider making a donation in Jim’s Memory to Treasure Coast Hospice (https://www.treasurehealth.org/292/Donate ), the American Cancer Society (https://American Cancer Society/donate/hope) or the Canadian Cancer Society (https://cancer.ca/en/ways-to-give/personal-donation.).