With his unexpected death, former Perth County Warden Jim Aitcheson is leaving a sizable void in his immediate community as well as across the county.
Fred Tranquilli, the chief administrative officer for Perth South and an associate of Aitcheson’s, said Jim was equal parts funny and serious about the things happening in his community, and always was sensitive to the experiences of people around him.
“He was a very capable politician, and he was very proud of his agricultural background and history,” Tranquilli said. “He lived on a century farm here in St. Pauls, which was his parents farm, and he was just so proud of his farming roots. I think he’s going to be remembered as a very good farmer and a very loyal and caring family man.”
Tranquilli said that Aitcheson’s legacy will be his advocacy, for both Perth South and the county at large.
“Jim had lots of opportunities to advocate for agriculture at Queen’s Park and higher levels of government, and he was very effective,” Tranquilli said. “I’ll remember him as someone who enjoyed a good laugh and sharing a joke, and as someone who would always look for that bright spot that would give everybody a smile and let everyone know it was going to be okay.”
Sue Orr, who stepped into Aitcheson’s role as mayor of Perth South when he took a leave of absence earlier this year, remembered her friend and colleague as a straight shooter who wasn’t afraid to step up and make big decisions on behalf of his community.
“When it came to working together and serving the people, Jim would always be the one to ask the hard questions,” she said. “But he always said to us that to just go along is not the way to go. You have to ask the hard questions and make the hard decisions for the future. Jim was honest and was one of the best mentors I could have had.”
As current Perth County Warden, Rhonda Ehgoetz worked with Aitcheson for three years as deputy warden, which allowed them to get close as colleagues and help one another better understand what was going on in the county. Their relationship was one she valued greatly, as was his outlook on serving his community.
“I’ll miss him dearly and we had a great relationship, and Jim was an all-around great guy,” Ehgoetz said. “He really thought a lot of his constituents, and he really knew his stuff. There were times when he would see things the rest of us didn’t. But I’m going to miss talking to him, the phone calls that he and I had. And I can’t forget how he encouraged me as a woman in politics when in those days it was mostly men – he was always there.”
