Contributions to the tribute of James William Rinehart

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LeAnn Wake posted a condolence

Monday, November 23, 2020

I met Jim and his beautiful wife Carol thru their niece Jo Morley. Jo took me to their home in London where I learned that I loved Carol's shrimp creole and Jim's moosehead beer went down very well. Their son's taught me how to play a better game of dart's.(diddle for the middle) So, sorry for the loss of this brilliant man.

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Joyce Young Posted Nov 23, 2020 at 10:25 PM

Thank you for your thoughts LeAnn. Darts, beer, good food and a cigar were favorites at the Rinehart home. Friends and family were always welcome to come by and enjoy them. Joyce (Jim and Carol's daughter).

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Jo Morley Posted Dec 5, 2020 at 3:28 AM

That is beautiful LeAnn.. You did good. <3

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Rod and Liz Beaujot posted a symbolic gesture

Sunday, November 22, 2020

Remembering Jim Rinehart From the time that I joined Western in 1976, I have always admired how Jim spoke up for the disadvantaged. I have marveled at the way his students stayed with him, long after their graduation. He has been such a dedicated colleague and friend. I have particularly fond memories of Friday afternoon darts at the Grad Club. When he visited us at a cottage that Liz and I were renting on the Bruce Peninsula, he came with fishing gear and was thereafter known as “Jim the fisherman” by our children. After his stroke, his limited speaking ability made it difficult for him to express complex thoughts: he was always saying “no”. But I could always tell when he agreed, and especially when he disagreed with what I was saying. Either way, Jim was always in such good humour. It was a joy to see him interact with Orren, his one-year-old step grandson. Rod & Liz Beaujot

Jo Morley Posted Nov 23, 2020 at 12:18 AM

I am Jim's niece and I love this story. Fisherman Jim, I hope he caught some fish. At our family gatherings we used to have at Houghton Lake in MI he would stay on shore and let the youngers catch the fish and he would sit back at the cabin drinking wine and waiting for them to get cleaned and cooked for the annual fish fry night. And I love your description of how he interacted with Orren. He was always awesome with all of us kids growing up. I was a very positive influence on all of of us.

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Jo Morley posted a symbolic gesture

Thursday, November 19, 2020

Jim was one of my favorite uncles growing up, my uncle Patuit. He was always a silly goofy man. Paying us kids a quarter to scratch his back. Tapping on my shoulder and being on the other side of me when he looked.. He always giggled after. His long funny stories. Ghost stories by the campfire at Houghton lake with all his loving family around. Christmas time was awesome, our entire extended family would all come to Lansing for a huge party. The cheese.. Carol always brought ton's of all kind of cheese to any event and Jim's favorite was the really smelly ones. They had to be set on a plate on the other side of the kitchen. And who could forget the cigars. Whenever I went to London I would have to load up on his favorites and bring them over the border I loved going to Detroit when I was a kid and staying for a week or so and being spoiled rotten. Anything I wanted was mine. When I took my young daughter to London Carol would say, you go have fun we will watch Sara. And oh the parties they would throw. Sometimes if felt like the floor was shaking. Jim and Carol always support his son Gregs bands and one of the best parties were for one of his CD releases. They always supported the music. One of my funnest memories was at Houghton Lake and Jim was sitting in a lawn chair drinking wine and smoking a cigar, the chair webbing broke and his skinny butt fell right through. He never spilled a drop of wine or the cigar and he just sat like that. We all laughed so hard. And the time we were having our build your burger night and you forgot to put the burger in the bun and didn't notice until it was half gone. And Jim was the person that got me going to college myself. As a young single mother struggling to make ends meet he said to me "One day I got tired of doing all the work and not making the money so he decided to go to college" and he became Dr. James Rinehart. I became Jo Morley RT(R). Thank you Uncle Jim for all your good advice, laughs and love. I'm sad that I didn't get to see you in the last few years of your life, but I thought of you often. Now you are up there with my dad in that fishing boat that you catching all the walleye/pickerel (always an argument between the two) be careful not to fall out (which he almost did once). When Carol died you told me she was the love of your life.... Now you are together forever. I love you and will never forget either one of you. Peace forever. Much Love Jo..

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Joyce Young Posted Dec 10, 2020 at 8:56 PM

Thank you Jo for all the memories. Family vacations were always special times, even when we didn't catch any fish. I hope we can all get together again soon. Love you cuz. Joyce

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Kevin McQuillan lit a candle

Wednesday, November 18, 2020

James W. Rinehart (Jim), our wonderful colleague and friend, passed away on November 6, 2020. Jim was a kind, generous, and entertaining man who held strong views but built lasting friendships with a wide range of people. He was loved by many, but especially by his dear wife Jane, who showered care and affection on him through his difficult final years. He was a loving and supportive father to Joyce, Bill, Tim, and Greg. His memory will stay with us forever. Jim was born in Delphos, Ohio on May 4th, 1933, but his formative years were spent in the Detroit area and Jim retained a great affection for the city throughout his life. He did his undergraduate studies at Wayne State in Detroit before going on to study for his PhD at Ohio State University. His earliest work was in social psychology and he published significant articles in Social Forces and Sociometry. But like many young Americans in the late 60s, frustration and disillusionment led him in new directions. He turned his attention to questions of social class and the nature of work in modern societies. And he decided to head north, accepting a job in 1969 at the new Department of Sociology at Western University in London, Ontario. Jim would spend the rest of his career at Western and live for most of that time in his home on Chalmers Street in Old North. Jim and Carol, who died in 1999, made their home a gathering spot for friends and family for many years. Jim was a dedicated, passionate teacher. He believed that cultivating in his students an understanding of how society works would make them more compassionate and engaged citizens. He had a deep influence on many of his students, a number of whom went on to successful careers in the academic world. Jim was best known for his writing in the sociology of work, most notably his book The Tyranny of Work, which was the most widely used text in the field in Canada. Although more of a theorist and commentator by nature, Jim became deeply involved in an empirical study of auto workers at the CAMI plant in Ingersoll, Ontario in later years and the project result in his co-authored book Just Another Car Factory?: Lean Production and Its Discontents published by Cornell University Press. Some of his more quantitative colleagues were amused by his conversion to the virtues of survey research! Jim loved his work and his students, but he also loved to have fun. He was a big sports fan, and his love of sports was a bridge to friendships with colleagues and others who didn’t always share his political views. He was a lifelong badminton player, a jovial if largely unsuccessful poker player, and an enthusiastic darts player. Many Friday afternoons, he would head to the Grad Club for beer and darts. He had a special fondness for the “16”, and he treasured the day he planted all three of his darts in the triple “16”. He loved basketball, especially the NCAA tournament, and considered it karma that he always taught his last class of the winter term on the Monday evening when the final game was scheduled. He would end his class early – it was the last class of the term after all – to ensure he got home in time to pour a beer, light his cigar (always a cheap one), and settle in for the championship game. Jim Rinehart lived a good life. He was kind, supportive and compassionate. He took the time to help others. He will be missed by all who had the good fortune to spend time with him. Kevin McQuillan

Jo Morley Posted Nov 22, 2020 at 8:32 AM

Thank you Kevin for helping me remember the darts and cigars. I never realized they were cheap cigars lol. And we did have some rowzing games of darts in the basement on Chalmers. I was always aiming for the 20 at the top. I am Jim's niece from Lansing Mi. I had forgotten his love of badminton and I'm still confused about pickleball he played in his later years. lol He did have a good life and improved the life of everyone around him. Carol and Jim were always my fave aunt and uncle. Thanks.

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Joyce Young Posted Apr 16, 2021 at 8:12 AM

Thank you Kevin for your condolences and summary of my father's academic and political life. I would however like to correct part of it. He did not complete his undergraduate studies at Wayne State. He completed them at Michigan State in Lansing Michigan. While there he met and married my mother. He then attended Ohio State where he completed his Phd. After this he accepted a position at Wayne State in Detroit. While in Detroit he also taught classes at the University of Windsor in Windsor.

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Mike Morin lit a candle

Monday, November 16, 2020

On the recommendation of some Nursing students, in September 1971 I took Jim's Social stratification 35 course. I can still visualize him wearing his brown corduroy sports jacket, cigar in one hand, coffee in the other with lecture notes jammed under his elbow. I often sat in the back row of the lecture hall in Talbot college. I must confess the warm September days and Jim's mellow voice occasionally caused me to nod off. The course gave me a credible coherent perspective on the society I lived in. Jim attributes his development of class analysis to the work of C. Wright Mills which led to Marx and so on... He claimed it gave him a very different perspective on the world as he had understood it. Jim never looked back. He produced a number of works (The Tyranny of Work) on the organization of work and its alienating effect on workers. He cared deeply for the powerless and exploited. His ability to elucidate reasons for the extremes of class deeply impressed me. Jim was a long time dear friend and comrade whom I will miss very much. My condolences to his partner Jane, who tirelessly cared for him, and others who cared for Jim. Mike Morin.

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Egbert de Weert lit a candle

Sunday, November 15, 2020

I was saddened to hear that Jim Rinehart has passed away. As a Dutch graduate student at Western from 1977-79 I took Jim´s courses on social stratification and labour studies. His book The Tyranny of Work appeared which inspired me to dig more into modes of organizing the labour process and alienation from a critical perspective. During those years Jim was not just a fine teacher, but we also became very close friends. The Friday afternoon darts at the Grad Club are memorable. When I finished my studies, Jim and his wife Carol organized for me a farewell party inviting several friends for food and drinks in their garden at Chalmers. I will never forget this gesture of friendship. Over the years I remained in touch with Jim, writing cards and letters and I visited him in the 1990s. In 2018 I felt a need to visit Western again and particularly to see Jim. On my arrival in London I heard from Rod Beaujot that Jim suffered from a stroke that left him paralyzed. I went to Fiddler´s Green Rd where he lived with his wife Jane. Despite Jim´s limited speaking ability I felt that the contact was so familiar and we could understand each other quite well. After a week I visited him again, this time together with Rod. These visits were heartwarming. I am very glad to have decided to visit a good friend who has meant so much to me. I wish Jane, who created such a loving environment for Jim, much strength to bear this loss. Egbert de Weert Utrecht, The Netherlands

Jo Morley Posted Nov 22, 2020 at 8:19 AM

Thank you Egbert. I am Jim's niece and I appreciate your fond memories of Jim and Carol. I'm glad you got to see him in his final years. My childhood memories are so deep and so many but their ability to make anyone feel like family was remarkable. Jim was an incredible teacher to all of us. I live in Lansing Michigan and was able to see him in his final years due to conditions beyond my control. It touches my heart to here how he kept in touch for all those years. he was an exceptional man.

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Taleah Garrie posted a condolence

Sunday, November 15, 2020

Jim was a giant of intellect and always a pleasure to be around. From his offices filled with books and papers to his constant fascination with the world at large, his thirst for knowledge never ended. It is because of people like him that this world is a better place. His love for his wife, his family and his dear pets was clear for all to see and his presence will be sorely missed. May you rest in eternal happiness Jim, you were one of the good ones.

Jo Morley Posted Nov 22, 2020 at 8:44 AM

Thank you Taleah. I am Jims niece from Lansing MI. I had forgotten how he used the phrase "thirst for knowledge". I use it frequently in my conversations with others. And his love for his pets was was true love. I remember him getting up and cooking eggs for his dogs everyday. Thanks for reminding me of that. He told everyone at Carols memorial that she was the love of his life and now they are in heaven together and forever.

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Amber Ternahan lit a candle

Sunday, November 15, 2020

I had the pleasure of knowing Jim and being there for him his last couple weeks , we would watch shows together and laugh out butts off ! He was a great happy loving man and I will never forget his smile every time I walked into the room , he was full of life no matter what. You will always be remembered Jim , Thankyou for showing me how to be happy in bad circumstances, Rest In Peace Jim watch over Jane for all of us .

Jo Morley Posted Nov 22, 2020 at 9:06 AM

Oh Amber I wish you could have known him longer. He was always a hoot.He was my uncle so I was lucky enough to know him my entire life. You must have been one of his caregivers.Oh the stories I could tell you. One in particular one was how when we would be on our big family vacations he would sit by the campfire and hit his cigar and do a puft sound at my dog who always stuck her tongue out. You must have been one of his caregivers.I thank you and salute you for taking care of my awesome uncle.

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The family of James William Rinehart uploaded a photo

Thursday, November 12, 2020

In loving memory of

James

1933 - 2020